AILA Review - Online First

Video-mediated interaction is becoming increasingly common in foreign language education (O’Dowd, 2023), offering learners opportunities to develop oral skills through interaction with L1 speakers. Lexical explanation sequences are of particular interest in cognitive-interactionist research (Loewen & Sato, 2018) because they engage learners in focusing on both form and meaning (Long & Robinson, 1998).

Gestures play a key role in language learning in general (Stam & Tellier, 2022), and in lexical acquisition in particular (Macedonia et al., 2019), both in face-to-face (Tellier et al., 2021) and video-mediated contexts (Holt, 2020). However, webcam framing limits gesture visibility (Guichon & Wigham, 2016), forcing teachers to adapt. While some research has examined gesture production during teacher- or learner-initiated negotiation in face-to-face settings (Inceoglu & Loewen, 2022), little is known about this relationship in video-mediated contexts.

This study addresses that gap by analyzing 305 lexical explanation sequences from the ISMAEL corpus (Guichon & Tellier, 2017), focusing on the relationship between gesture production by pre-service teachers and the initiator of the sequence, the presence of visible incomprehension, the type of lexical difficulty (comprehension vs. production), and the grammatical category of the lexical item. Results show that gestures are significantly more likely when learners visibly display incomprehension, and when the difficulty is related to comprehension. These findings highlight the importance of gesture use during video-mediated teaching, especially during lexical explanation sequences and in response to signs of learner incomprehension.

The study of mental verbs is relevant at the present stage of development of linguistic science, since there is still no clear classification of these lexical units in the Kazakh language. The purpose of this study was formed — the representation of the lexical-semantic categories of verbs associated with the processes of perception, cognition and affectivity, using frame model. To implement the tasks set in the study, the methods of frame, semantic, contextual and structural analysis, dictionary and thesaurus approaches used in combination were used. The article examined the main lexico-semantic categories of verbs expressing actions with mental meanings, focused on the formation of frame structures and substructures, evaluated the linguistic capabilities of the three main lexico-semantic categories (perception, cognition, affectivity), formed semantic links between functional-semantic fields each individual group representing different aspects of mental activity. Attention was focused on the fact that the processes of semantic changes are determined by the worldview of the people, their spiritual and cultural experience, and the discursive nature of the language. An idea was formed about the system of mental verbs, representing all types of knowledge, on the basis of the corpus of the Kazakh language and artistic material. This study showed that the Kazakh language is characterised by a high degree of figurativeness, metaphorisation and anthropomorphisation, determined the semantic boundaries of the main groups of mental verbs, so it can be used in the future to form frame models in the field of Kazakh phraseology, linguoculturology, cognitive and communicative linguistics.

The paper discusses the potential of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) pedagogy in the current practice of ELT (English Language Teaching) and the issues of global education from a viewpoint of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in Japan. DEI into CLIL pedagogy ensures a variety of learning environments, appropriate CLIL learning, and a sense of belonging. CLIL can also provide better ideas and resources to cultivate DEI. This paper therefore argues that CLIL pedagogy has the potential to change and incorporate issues related to DEI. The Japan CLIL Pedagogy Association (J-CLIL) conducted a questionnaire survey on CLIL and its sponsored events and activities in 2021. Results show that: (1) many teachers are not aware of DEI; (2) their mindset can become gradually diverse; (3) current education lacks equity with respect to students; and (4) inclusive education is still not satisfactory. Ensuring equity in DEI is crucial in the realm of CLIL teacher education. Therefore, it is imperative for CLIL teacher education to be more attuned to DEI concerns to enhance the implementation of CLIL practices effectively. The DEI process needs to be integrated into CLIL and globalisation within the Japanese context. For that purpose, there needs to be more research and practice necessary to promote a CLIL type of languages-integrated learning, and this paper argues that it can be done through the IMT (Integrated Multifunctional Teacher) development program in Japan.

The recent advent of AI-based digital assistants such as ChatGPT offers the potential for a new tool in the instructional “toolbox” for EAP courses. We report on a retrospective survey of students’ experiences using ChatGPT in first- and second-year EAP core writing courses at a continental European university. Students reported that they saw ChatGPT as a social agent, had moderately fluent experiences interacting with it, and had moderately positive perceptions of ChatGPT as an instructional tool. Both self-reported fluency of the interaction and perceptions of ChatGPT’s social agentic qualities were positively associated with perceptions of ChatGPT’s value as an instructional tool. Students reported that ChatGPT was less helpful than their professors, and neither more nor less helpful than their peers. Implications for EAP instruction are discussed.

This cyberpragmatic study investigates the correlation between spatial multimodal cybertext environments and their psychological impact on speech intent. The research delves into speech fragments in diverse cybertextual contexts across social media platforms. The methodology involves data identification, transcription, classification, and typification. Similarly, looking at things, the study shows that the physical settings of cybertexts have a big effect on the everyday meanings of words, acting as background, determinant, emphasis enhancer, reinforcement, illustration, and signal for speech intent. The research explores the distinct role of each category in shaping speech intention within spatial cybertexts, underscoring how these insights can facilitate effective communication and their psychological impact on speech intent, particularly for language learners on social media platforms.