ABSTRACT This paper presents the design and key outcomes of an innovative community-based language learning (CBLL) initiative embedded in an advanced Chinese course at a southeastern U.S. university. Responding to shifting sociocultural landscapes and the institution’s commitment to community engagement, the project connected students with members of a local Chinese community to collaboratively document their lived histories, cultural practices, and social realities. Uniquely, the project integrates the proficiency-based orientation of language education with the reciprocal, action-driven ethos of CBLL, positioning communicative performance as both a linguistic goal and a medium for social connection. Guided by a Generative Reciprocity Approach (GRA), learners and community partners co-constructed bilingual digital archives that embody shared authorship and mutual learning. This triadic partnership – linking classroom, university, and community – demonstrates how language education can function as socially engaged practice, merging proficiency development and intercultural competence with civic participation, global awareness, and ethical leadership, while amplifying the voices and lived narratives of underrepresented communities.

ABSTRACT Selecting appropriate texts for second language (L2) learners is critical for optimizing learning outcomes, yet existing methods often fail to accurately align materials with learner proficiency levels. This study addresses this challenge by adopting the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as a benchmark for text classification. We employed ChatGPT-4o to categorize texts based on CEFR levels using a dataset of 120 texts annotated by both experts and L2 learners. Results demonstrate that a six-shot prompt strategy which provided examples from each of the six CEFR levels outperformed other few-shot prompt models, achieving an average classification accuracy exceeding 91%. This performance remained consistent across both the validation set (1,061 texts) and the testing set (120 texts). Notably, ChatGPT-4o surpassed eight widely-used readability formulas in text classification accuracy, underscoring the potential of advanced language models to support more effective text leveling for L2 education.

ABSTRACT This Innovative Practice article reports a ten-week, smartphone-supported Digital Drama (DD) project implemented in six Vietnamese public high schools (N = 1207 learners). DD is defined here as a cycle of collaborative scripting, rehearsal, filmed performance, and reflective revision in which learners compose short drama scenes for video and share them through everyday digital platforms. The project aims to expand high-school English learning beyond test-oriented routines by positioning learners as multimodal meaning-makers who negotiate language, gesture, space, sound, and editing choices. We frame DD as a form of digital multimodal composing within computer-assisted language learning (CALL), aligned with process-oriented task cycles (planning → production → sharing → reflection). The article describes the project design (teacher preparation, group roles, rehearsal and filming routines, and assessment criteria), documents implementation conditions common to provincial Vietnamese schools (large intact classes and uneven connectivity), and summarizes evaluation evidence from pre/post learner questionnaires and teacher reflections. We conclude with design principles, common challenges, and practical resources (task models, checklists, and templates) to support transfer to other secondary contexts.

ABSTRACT This research examined how IT mindfulness and TPACK of EFL teachers relate to their technostress. SEM results from 329 teachers who completed three surveys displayed that EFL teachers’ IT mindfulness negatively predicted their technostress, whereas no relationship was discovered between TPACK and technostress. Additionally, EFL teachers’ IT mindfulness had a stronger impact on their technostress than their TPACK. It was also realized that EFL teachers’ IT mindfulness altered their TPACK. Finally, the study found interaction effects for two variables. The study offered several recommendations for teachers and teacher educators to effectively manage technostress.

ABSTRACT Guided by the process dimension of Rhodes’ 4P model of creativity as the analytical framework, this study explores how undergraduate students perceive creativity in their experience in EFL classrooms. The participants, 240 Chinese EFL students at various universities throughout China, completed a questionnaire. Following the questionnaire, six students agreed to interview to provide insight into their perceptions. The quantitative results suggest that students generally perceive their experience in EFL classrooms as supportive of creativity. EFL teachers were perceived as knowledgeable, passionate, and effective in teaching, and implemented a wide range of student-centred strategies in classrooms with a mostly relaxed and interactive classroom climate. The interview data further support the questionnaire results but demonstrate that external factors, including disparity between schools and exam-oriented culture, influence students’ creative engagement. In addition, this research also highlights the importance of balancing exam preparation and creative teaching which suggests that under the exam-oriented education system, incorporating creative elements within exam-focused teaching can be a viable way for promoting creativity in teaching practices. This study contributes to the current literature by incorporating learners’ perspectives into the research on creativity in EFL classrooms, particularly in non-Western contexts. Based on the results, practical implications shed light on how to construct more creatively supportive learning environments.

ABSTRACT Given the pivotal role of learner engagement in shaping second language (L2) development, identifying its motivational underpinnings is of growing interest. However, research has largely focused on isolated variables, offering limited insight into how multiple learner factors interact. This study addresses this gap by examining how three motivational constructs – basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), language mindset (growth vs. fixed), and academic buoyancy – independently and configurationally influence L2 learner engagement. Drawing on both multiple regression and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), this study analyzed questionnaire data from 539 college students who learn English as a Foreign Language. The results indicated that 1) competence, relatedness, growth mindset, and buoyancy positively predicted engagement, while autonomy and fixed mindset did not show statistical influence; 2) no single factor emerged as a necessary or sufficient condition for sustained engagement; 3) five distinct motivational configurations were found to lead to high engagement, showing the interactive nature of these factors and complexity of engagement. This study expands our existing knowledge about the underlying mechanism of how diverse psychological resources shape engagement by the configurational methods. These results offered practical and tailored pedagogical implications for enhancing students’ engagement during L2 learning process.

ABSTRACT Purpose This study adopted a quantitative research design involving 208 language teachers of Chinese as a second language (CSL) to explore the associations among emotion regulation strategies, teaching enjoyment, teacher resilience, and work-related outcomes. Design/methodology/approach To narrow this gap, self-report questionnaires were developed and voluntarily completed by university language teachers in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the collected data. Findings The results of structural equation modeling revealed that reappraisal strategy was positively correlated with teaching enjoyment and resilience while suppression demonstrated negative impacts. Moreover, as language teachers chose to adopt reappraisal strategy, they were more likely to experience greater teaching enjoyment and contributed to a higher level of resilience in challenging conditions, which in turn enhanced their commitment and engagement. Conversely, the use of maladaptive strategies, such as expressive suppression, undermined teachers’ teaching enjoyment and negatively impacted teacher resilience, leading to reduced work engagement and higher turnover intention. Originality/value This study extends emotion research in language education by underscoring teachers’ emotion regulation in cross-cultural classrooms. Additionally, the findings provide valuable insights for designing targeted interventions and teacher programs aimed at fostering emotion regulation and work engagement.

ABSTRACT Past research has shown that social support from teachers plays an important role in learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC). However, research on how specific types of teacher support – emotional, appraisal, and instrumental – affect L2WTC is limited, particularly regarding the mediating roles of foreign language enjoyment and growth language mindset. This study examined these relationships using data from 485 Chinese undergraduates, analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Results revealed that none of the three types of teacher support directly influenced L2WTC. However, indirect effects emerged through foreign language enjoyment and growth language mindset. Emotional and appraisal support positively impacted foreign language enjoyment, while instrumental support had a negative effect. Foreign language enjoyment, in turn, positively influenced L2WTC, mediating the effects of all three types of teacher support. Additionally, emotional and instrumental support significantly promoted growth language mindset, whereas appraisal support did not. Growth language mindset further positively influenced L2WTC, mediating the effects of emotional and instrumental support on L2WTC. The findings suggest that teachers can indirectly boost learners’ L2WTC by providing emotional support through listening to their concerns and organizing collaborative activities, offering appraisal support through constructive and growth-oriented feedback, and delivering instrumental support by strategically fostering autonomy and problem-solving skills.

ABSTRACT Purpose Metaverse technologies are increasingly incorporated into blended EFL instruction, yet evidence remains limited on their effectiveness relative to conventional blended learning in university contexts. This study evaluated a metaverse-supported blended learning module and explored how perceived presence and learning motivation relate to perceived learning outcomes within the metaverse-supported condition. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the Community of Inquiry framework and Self-Determination Theory, a quasi-experiment was embedded in a regular college English course. Two intact undergraduate classes participated (experimental n = 56; control n = 55; N = 111). All students completed pre- and post-intervention English proficiency tests; the metaverse-supported group also completed a post-module survey measuring perceived presence, learning motivation, and perceived learning outcomes. Post-test proficiency was compared using ANCOVA controlling for pre-test proficiency, and an exploratory mediation analysis was conducted within the metaverse-supported group. Findings After controlling for baseline proficiency, the metaverse-supported group achieved higher post-test English proficiency than the conventional blended group. Survey results indicated generally positive learner perceptions of the metaverse-supported module. Presence was indirectly associated with perceived learning outcomes via learning motivation, consistent with a partial mediation pattern; however, this pathway should be interpreted as exploratory and associational given the single-wave post-module survey. Originality/value This study provides quasi-experimental evidence from an authentic university EFL course that a metaverse-supported blended module can enhance proficiency compared with conventional blended learning. It also offers initial process-oriented insight into the roles of presence and motivation, informing future multi-wave research and the design of immersive speaking-oriented activities in blended EFL contexts.

ABSTRACT Having returned to teaching full-time in Higher Education after working in the voluntary sector (2014–2020), I was struck by the reticence of first-year students (post A Level equivalent) in writing freely as I prepared them for summer written examinations. Conversations indicated a fear of making grammatical mistakes, questions about improving vocabulary range and a concern about expectations at university as they transitioned from school or college. Since 2021–2022 I have therefore run a creative storytelling project, involving the coproduction of a short story by a group of 8–14 students. Writing examinations is a stressful experience for many students, elicits a range of coping strategies (Berry, K., and S. Kingswell. 2012. “An Investigation of Adult Attachment and Coping with Exam-related Stress.” British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 40 (4): 315–325) and includes specific challenges for those who did not sit examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for those with specific disabilities or learning needs. The project is designed to support formal assessment rather than be formally assessed, with an inclusive learning approach that combines Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), creative storytelling in MFL teaching, ideas from author Doris Dörrie (2019. Leben, Schreiben, Atmen: Eine Einladung zum Schreiben. Zürich: Diogenes. eBook), and immersive role-play such as Call of Cthulhu (2025. Chaosium Inc. Available Call of Cthulhu – Getting Started). This paper outlines my project design, lesson planning, delivery, observed benefits and issues to consider. It is intended as shared practice to inspire other teachers to draw from their personal gifts, skills, and capacities, all key elements of ABCD, to develop formative creative writing lessons that support and motivate students as they prepare for formal assessment.