SystemPub Date : 2025-07-01DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103738
Min Fan , Xia Liu , Xiaohua Song , Jianling Xie
{"title":"The effects of group size on critical thinking and writing development in collaborative writing: A mixed methods study","authors":"Min Fan , Xia Liu , Xiaohua Song , Jianling Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, research on collaborative dialogue and peer interaction patterns in ESL/EFL collaborative writing (CW) and their relation to the co-constructed text quality has been burgeoning. However, scarce is the research on the interplay between CW and critical thinking (CT). This study employs a mixed-methods research (MMR) design, integrating a quasi-experimental study with focus group interviews, to examine the influence of CW group sizes on CT and writing proficiency among 184 intermediate EFL tertiary-level learners. The participants were divided into four experimental groups—pairs, triads, quads, and quintets—and a comparison group that engaged in independent writing. Over eight weeks, all groups completed pre- and post-tests in writing proficiency and produced two argumentative essays to assess CT skills. After the posttest, four focus group interview sessions were conducted, one for each of the four experimental groups. The quantitative results indicate a trade-off: larger CW groups cultivate collective CT but impair individual writing proficiency. The interview data reveal a different trade-off: despite their higher CT performance, larger groups may report more conflicts and less favorable perceptions of CW tasks in fostering CT. The study discusses the pedagogical implications of these findings and offers recommendations for optimizing CW group sizes to balance CT development with writing proficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103738"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-30DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103746
Yue Zhang , Chun Lai , Michelle Ming Yue Gu
{"title":"Becoming a teacher in the era of AI: A multiple-case study of pre-service teachers’ investment in AI-facilitated learning-to-teach practices","authors":"Yue Zhang , Chun Lai , Michelle Ming Yue Gu","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Language learning and teaching research explores the affordances and constraints of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools and learners' and teachers' AI literacy. However, little attention has been directed to teachers' use of such tools and their implications for the development of GenAI literacies as diverse, historically, and culturally variable practices involving AI tools, especially pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the second language (L2) context. Based on an exploratory multiple-case study of five undergraduate PSTs in Hong Kong, this paper adopts the model of L2 investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015) to address this need by posing three question: 1. What are the GenAI literacies that PSTs invest in as they learn to teach? 2. What are the perceived affordances and constraints of GenAI tools in their learning-to-teach practices? 3. To what extent do their identity and access to resources shape these literacies? Data was collected from a survey, interviews, and observations of participants' GenAI use, and triangulated using content analysis. Findings reveal how PSTs invest in their English and pedagogy learner, bilingual writer, and teacher identities that intertwine with their identities as users of various GenAI tools in GenAI-empowered spaces as ideological sites that shaped PSTs' dispositions and positioning. Recognizing how PSTs deploy multiple resources to invest in contrasting GenAI literacies, this study underscores the need for the language classroom to integrate GenAI literacies instruction that enables a critical awareness of how GenAI tools operate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103746"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144513752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-27DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103760
Xuanda Chen , Lei Zeng , Yalei Li
{"title":"Effect of auditory precision on L2 speech learning is partially mediated by learning target and instruction form","authors":"Xuanda Chen , Lei Zeng , Yalei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103760","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103760","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ability to learn a second language (L2), particularly novel speech sounds, varies significantly among individuals. Previous studies highlight the importance of auditory processing skills in L2 acquisition. However, the way auditory precision interacts with factors, such as the learning target (acoustic differences in sounds) and instruction form (types of instruction and feedback), remains to be further investigated. To explore this, we conducted a four-day classroom experiment with 80 adult Mandarin speakers learning Russian laryngeal contrasts: stops vs. fricatives. Participants were assigned to two groups receiving different instructions. One group received feedback focusing on word meaning, while the other group received instruction that emphasized both meaning and phonetic form with explicit instruction. Our findings reveal a complex interplay between auditory precision, learning target, and instruction form. Generally, superior auditory precision was associated with better speech learning outcomes across both types of instruction and consistently across learning targets. However, the three-way interaction presented a nuanced perspective. Results showed that learners with higher auditory precision benefited more from explicit instruction in their ability to perceive stop consonants; those with lower auditory precision also benefited, but to a lesser extent. This effect was not observed in the learning of fricatives. These results highlight the critical role of auditory processing in L2 learning, and suggest that instruction form may be tailored to the specific phonetic challenges faced by learners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103760"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144492052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103753
Yangyu Wang , Xia Wang , Xinyu Yao
{"title":"A polynomial regression and surface response analysis of the (in)congruence of enjoyment and anxiety in online EFL learning","authors":"Yangyu Wang , Xia Wang , Xinyu Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite a bulk of research focusing on how foreign language enjoyment and anxiety influence engagement, such endeavors have been predominantly conducted using linear statistical methods and in traditional offline learning. Given that learners often experience multiple emotions simultaneously and computer-mediated language learning is becoming increasingly prevalent, it is essential to investigate how levels of enjoyment and anxiety—two extensively studied emotions in foreign language learning—align with each other, and how their congruence and incongruence impact learners' online learning engagement and interactions. The current study aimed to contribute to the literature by exploring both linear and curvilinear relationships between the (in)congruence of foreign language enjoyment and anxiety and their effects on online English learning engagement and interactions. Questionnaire responses from a total of 348 Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) undergraduates from two universities were obtained. Polynomial regression with response surface analysis revealed that 1) the congruence between foreign language enjoyment and anxiety had a significantly positive linear relationship with emotional and cognitive engagement, as well as learner-learner, learner-instructor, and learner-content interactions; 2) the incongruence between enjoyment and anxiety had positive linear relationships with all the outcomes and positive curvilinear relationships with learner-learner and learner-instructor interactions; 3) along the line of congruence, the outcomes were higher when both enjoyment and anxiety were high; along the line of incongruence, the outcomes were higher when enjoyment was higher than anxiety. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103753"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144492050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103759
Yonghua (Yoka) Wang , Weihong Wang , Fan Fang
{"title":"Developing Chinese English language teachers’ research literacy: A multi-case study of an MA TESOL programme at a British university","authors":"Yonghua (Yoka) Wang , Weihong Wang , Fan Fang","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Teacher research literacy is crucial for bridging gaps between academic research and classroom practices. However, while existing research on language teacher education programmes has primarily focused on teaching aspects, their impact on teacher research literacy remains under-researched. This study explores the influence of a UK-based MA TESOL programme on Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' research literacy development. Employing multiple data sources, including semi-structured interviews, reflective writing and research portfolios from three focal student-teacher participants, the study reveals that the MA TESOL programme enhanced Chinese EFL teachers' research literacy in five key areas: practice-based research awareness, theoretical literacy, research skills, research volition and ethical literacy. The findings suggest that MA TESOL programmes may serve as potential platforms for enhancing teacher research literacy, thereby promoting the nexus between research and practice and contributing to the development of reflective practitioners. The findings provide practical implications for global language teacher education, highlighting the importance of integrating research literacy into teacher development programmes, thereby empowering teachers’ research-informed teaching practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103759"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103755
Hansol Lee , Heath Rose , Ernesto Macaro , Jang Ho Lee
{"title":"Effectiveness of EMI in higher education: A multi-level meta-analysis","authors":"Hansol Lee , Heath Rose , Ernesto Macaro , Jang Ho Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study is one of the first comprehensive multi-level meta-analyses investigating the effects of English Medium Instruction in higher education. It synthesizes a total of 41 samples, comprising a total of 8,747 participants, from 28 quantitative studies, including 23 samples on content learning (7,659 participants) and 18 on English performance (1,088 participants). A comparison of EMI students’ post-test and pre-test scores (within-group comparison) revealed that students significantly improved on measures of content knowledge (<em>d</em> = 1.57, <em>p</em> < .001) and English proficiency (<em>d</em> = 0.81, <em>p</em> < .001), although we acknowledge that this finding does not account for external factors or establish causality. A comparison of post-test performance between EMI and non-EMI groups (between-group comparison), which aimed to assess EMI’s effectiveness relative to non-EMI, showed that EMI students achieved comparable outcomes in content learning (<em>d</em> = 0.13, <em>p</em> = 0.14) and significantly outperformed non-EMI students in English development (<em>d</em> = 0.33, <em>p</em> = 0.009). Moderator analyses further revealed that studies with methodological limitations, such as selection biases for within-group comparisons or unaddressed group homogeneity for between-group comparisons, often overestimate the effectiveness of EMI for content learning. Based on our findings, we offer practical implications for the implementation of EMI in higher education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103755"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-21DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103757
Larena Schäfer
{"title":"Reflective dialogues in negotiating the research-practice nexus: A case study of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher-researcher collaboration","authors":"Larena Schäfer","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reflective dialogues between researchers and teachers in Design-Based Research (DBR) projects are often presented as promising opportunities for establishing the research-practice nexus. However, collaborative DBR partnerships in language teacher education remain underexplored. This case study aims to address this gap, exploring how the research-practice nexus is fostered or challenged through reflective dialogues between an EFL teacher and a researcher in a DBR project. Based on data from semi-structured project meetings, informal planning and reflection sessions, and a researcher's field diary, this study identified collaborative goal setting, the co-design of a lesson sequence, and a multifaceted understanding of the lesson design as central reflective practices for fostering the nexus. At the same time, the study reveals significant challenges for the research-practice nexus, including differing conceptual understandings, asymmetries in roles, and tensions between practice-oriented and research-driven priorities. Practical implications are discussed for future researcher-teacher collaborations within language teacher education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103757"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-21DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103756
Myunghwan Hwang , Ki-Ho Lee , Hee-Kyung Lee
{"title":"A word to the wise: Crafting impactful prompts for ChatGPT","authors":"Myunghwan Hwang , Ki-Ho Lee , Hee-Kyung Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103756","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103756","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integration of ChatGPT into higher education has grown rapidly, yet research on students’ prompting behaviors remains limited. This study examines learner-generated prompts, focusing on linguistic features, prompt engineering strategies, and content-related problems, as well as their impact on response quality, measured by learner satisfaction. A total of 238 prompts from ten Korean EFL graduate students in English education were collected through reflection logs and analyzed using one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, network analysis, and K-means clustering. Results indicate that learners predominantly used concise prompts with minimal strategy, with English prompts yielding higher satisfaction than those in their first language. High-satisfaction prompts incorporated clear, interconnected strategies, while low-satisfaction prompts featured fragmented ones. Key strategies associated with high satisfaction included contextualization and specifying text style, tone, and length, while repetition correlated with dissatisfaction. Furthermore, a thematic analysis identified six main problems that hindered response quality: lack of context, unclear feedback, dual requests, grammatical errors, abstract vocabulary, and excessive constraints. These findings highlight the significance of clear, contextually rich, and strategically crafted prompts in optimizing interactions with ChatGPT, along with the need to equip EFL learners with distinct prompting techniques tailored for AI-assisted language learning, separate from traditional human communication.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103756"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144492051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-19DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103752
Jing Liu, Wei Su
{"title":"Student engagement with oral feedback on second language learning: A methodological review","authors":"Jing Liu, Wei Su","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effectiveness of feedback and its impact on learning outcomes ultimately depend on whether and how students respond to feedback, that it, students' engagement with feedback. Research on this topic has received increasing scholarly attention. Compared to research on engagement with written feedback, less is known regarding how students engage with oral feedback. Given the real-time interactions between feedback givers and receivers enabled by oral feedback, coupled with multi-modality of visual and aural information exchanges, students' engagement with oral feedback is very likely to differ from that with written feedback. An investigation into this area can enhance the current understanding of engagement as a complex construct. Accordingly, this study systematically reviewed 40 empirical studies from a methodological perspective, since one possible reason for the limited attention to engagement with oral feedback is the difficulty of capturing and analyzing the highly transient oral delivery. The review found that most research did not provide clear or focused conceptualizations or theoretical frameworks of engagement. In addition, the most frequently adopted research design was the convergent design, the most frequent methods were surveys and observation, with the most common instruments being video/audio recordings and questionnaires. In response, it is suggested that, theoretically, more consensus should be reached concerning the terminology, theoretical frameworks, and conceptualizations. In terms of research foci, more efforts are needed to comprehensively explore the three dimensions of engagement (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, and affective), potential indicators, innovative methods, and engagement with alternative feedback types. Finally, the influencing factors in the engagement process (e.g., teaching contexts, feedback foci, learners’ motivation) merit special attention, since they are indispensable for a thorough comprehension of engagement with feedback.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103752"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144314302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SystemPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2025.103737
Haeyun Jin
{"title":"When AI meets source use: Exploring ChatGPT's potential in L2 summary writing assessment","authors":"Haeyun Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103737","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.system.2025.103737","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Integrated writing assessments, which require students to incorporate source material into their writing, pose unique challenges for human raters. Understanding how AI tools like ChatGPT perform in assessing such tasks has become critical. This study investigates ChatGPT's ability to score L2 summary writing compared to human raters, focusing on the differences in rating results across various writing criteria, and their decision-making process in assessing source use. Using Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) analysis, ratings of 90 student essays by GPT_original, GPT_calibrated, and two human raters were analyzed. Results indicated that GPT_original was the strictest rater overall, particularly in language-focused criteria. While GPT_calibrated aligned more closely with human raters, it still exhibited significant gaps in assessing a source-use-related criterion. Qualitative analyses of raters' think-aloud protocols revealed ChatGPT's detailed, rule-based approach to identifying source use strategies but also its lack of contextual flexibility, often misjudging legitimate paraphrasing attempts and over-relying on surface-level cues. These findings highlight ChatGPT's potential as a supplementary rating tool for L2 integrated writing while underscoring its limitations in addressing the developmental and contextual aspects of assessing source use. Implications point to the need for further refinement through L2-specific training to better align ChatGPT's judgments with human standards.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48185,"journal":{"name":"System","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103737"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}