TECHNOLOGY ASSISTED LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Year:2024 | Volume:2 | Issue:2|Papers Count:6

Screencast technology in English writing assessment offers personalized, detailed feedback, but not dialogic. However, integrating it with ipsative assessment principles can sustain a dialogue between teachers and learners on students’ writing development. This study investigated the impact of Screencast-based Ipsative Assessment (SIA) on developing students’ writing skills, writing self-regulation, and writing self-efficacy in an Iranian foreign language-teaching context. Screencast technology recorded teachers’ feedback and facilitated students’ access to and reflection on their previous works. A quantitative research design was used to collect and analyze the data to examine the effect of this approach on the development of the participants’ writing skills, writing self-regulation, and writing self-efficacy. The findings revealed that SIA enhanced participants’ writing performance and made them self-regulated and self-efficacious in their writing skills. The findings suggest that English teachers can utilize screencast technology for precise, detailed, ipsative feedback in an IA regime. SIA procedures can promote student self-assessment and facilitate teacher and writer communication. This interaction allows them to clarify doubts and strategize their next steps in the writing journey.

Over a year, the study examined five in-service EFL teachers in a private English Institute in an Iranian EFL context. They engaged in a continuing professional development program launched by their supervisor using reflective video-mediated practices and journal writing. The participant teachers, chosen based on their educational background and experiences, engaged in a series of discussions guided by their supervisor for about 20 sessions over four consecutive semesters. The data for the study was collected through observation of their video-mediated teaching practices, audio-recorded focal group discussions, audio-recorded interviews, and their reflective journals on a Telegram group. The findings indicated that the participants developed more critical reflection towards their teaching practices, reconceptualized their views of teaching concepts and practices, and reshaped their professional identity continuously on a sustainable basis. As a longitudinal case study, the findings have significant implications for private EFL school administrators, providing valuable insights to reconsider their continuing professional development strategies. Consequently, it has valuable implications for training in-service EFL teachers at private EFL institutes.

Given the complex and multi-faceted nature of teaching and learning English in general and in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts in particular and the ever-increasing integration of technology into second language curricula, it is incumbent upon EFL teachers to reflect on their teaching processes to incorporate new technological software and applications into their classrooms. In addition, a dearth of empirical and conceptual studies can be found in the literature on knowledge sharing and its relationship with teachers’ professional development and self-efficacy. Accordingly, the study investigated a structural model of EFL teachers’ knowledge sharing, professional development, and self-efficacy. About 83 EFL teachers in ten language schools were selected based on convenience sampling as the study's participants. Three questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data, which were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient test, multiple regression, and path analysis. The findings revealed a significant relationship between EFL teachers’ knowledge sharing on Google Meet and their professional development. A significant relationship was found between EFL teachers’ professional development and their self-efficacy. It was also confirmed that EFL teachers’ professional development mediates the relationship between knowledge sharing and their self-efficacy. The effectiveness of training teachers to use online technology is discussed.

This study explores the impact of AI-powered writing assistance on the writing quality and creativity of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. The study reveals that AI platforms like ChatGPT enhance grammatical accuracy, structural coherence, and student engagement, improving overall writing quality. Integrating AI into EFL writing tasks significantly reduces grammatical and lexical errors, promoting more cohesive and coherent texts. Students report increased motivation and engagement due to the immediate feedback provided by ChatGPT. However, the study also highlights content density and authenticity challenges, as AI sometimes includes unrelated ideas and may dilute the students’ intended messages. Despite concerns over AI’s ability to preserve students’ authentic voices and the potential risk of over-reliance, students’ positive attitudes and the pedagogical implications of AI integration indicate that AI holds promise for enhancing EFL education. The study underscores the need for educators to address issues such as inaccuracies, biases, and the balance between AI assistance and students’ authentic expression. This guidance is crucial to fully leverage the benefits of AI in writing instruction. Ultimately, while AI significantly improves the technical quality of writing, its impact on creativity and authenticity requires careful management to ensure enriched learning experiences.

This study explores the integration of a teacher’s multifaceted approach to enhance peer assessment and engagement in online IELTS writing courses framed within the TEC-VARIETY framework. The objective is to assess how structured writing instruction, peer review, and personalized feedback via the Perplexity AI application can transform the peer review process and promote collaborative learning among upper-intermediate ESL learners. In a 12-session online workshop, participants engaged in a structured peer review protocol focused on argumentative essays. The teacher provided comprehensive instruction on essential essay components, enabling students to deliver meaningful feedback. Following peer reviews, Perplexity AI facilitated personalized feedback, fostering deeper reflection and inquiry-based learning. Qualitative analyses of participant experiences and writing performance revealed significant peer assessment and engagement improvements. The findings offer insights for educators on leveraging technology and innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance writing instruction in online environments. This research contributes to the literature on peer assessment and collaborative engagement, highlighting the importance of a multifaceted teaching approach within the TEC-VARIETY framework to improve student outcomes in digital education contexts.

Given the paramount importance of motivation and the paucity of research into teachers’ remotivational strategies, this study, adopting a sequential mixed-methods design, constructed and validated a teachers' remotivational strategies questionnaire. In so doing, the present study built upon an integrative framework encompassing Ecological Systems Theory (EST) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The participants comprised 235 EFL teachers aged 21 to 45 (M=30.63, SD=5.28) and teaching experience of three months to 23 years (M=7.30, SD=3.87). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data. Following that, the interview contents became subject to thematic analysis and the results and the existing themes in the extant theoretical and empirical literature were used to develop the questionnaire. The results of thematic data analysis demonstrated that the emerging theme instances were situated within the integrative SDT/EST frame. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results suggested a three-factor structure encompassing relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Moreover, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results indicated that the three-factor structure fits the Iranian EFL teachers' population.  Based on the results, teachers' remotivational strategies questionnaire can be safely used for developing professional programs aiming at determining and promoting EFL teachers’ understanding and use of remotivational strategies.