ScholarSpace

ScholarSpace is an open-access, digital institutional repository for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa community. ScholarSpace stores the intellectual works and unique collections of the UH at Mānoa academic community and also provides a permanent web location for those accessing these resources.

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The development of EFL learners’ self-efficacy in technology use environments
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-20) Li, Xuelian; Yang, Manzhen
Self-efficacy plays a critical role in language learning motivation, performance, and achievement. However, limited research has examined how different dimensions of English self-efficacy evolve over time and the mechanisms underlying such development in technology use environments. To address these gaps, the present study adopted a mixed-methods design. A total of 102 university students completed questionnaires at three time points over a 15-week period, and 10 participants subsequently took part in semi-structured follow-up interviews. Quantitative findings revealed a significant increase in overall English self-efficacy, as well as in three specific dimensions: speaking, listening, and writing self-efficacy. Qualitative findings further demonstrated how the four sources of self-efficacy, shaped by technological affordances, were associated with students’ efficacy beliefs and helped explain why reading self-efficacy did not show a statistically significant increase within the same learning ecology. The study concluded by discussing pedagogical implications for strengthening reading self-efficacy and optimizing the use of technology in language learning, as well as limitations of the study and directions for future research.
Re-creating an Archival Collection of Wapichan, Atorad, and Other Languages of Guyana
(University of Hawaii Press, 2026-07) Konrad Rybka; Zachary O’Hagan
This article explores the multi-dimensional life that 13 tape recordings of Atorad, Wapichan, Taruma, and Macushi held by the California Language Archive (University of California, Berkeley) have taken on in Indigenous communities of Guyana. The tapes were made in 1965 by American researcher Gladwyn Kingsley Noble, Jr. and local Wapichan educator Lawrence Joseph. Yet the collection remained unknown and unavailable to the public until 2018. We walk through the chain of events that led the first author to facilitate the return of these recordings to the source community, noting various connections to local families, their reactions, and their contributions in and out of thematic workshops held in the region. We discuss the context of the recordings, including the locations, participants, attested language varieties, Noble’s goals and methods, Joseph’s central role in the project; and the value of the recordings to linguistics, anthropology, history, and other local affairs. Most importantly, the article and the research that led to it illustrate the complementary roles that speakers, students, researchers, and archivists can play in the permanent preservation of legacy materials and in enriching their return to source communities by being directly involved in their digitization, annotation, and description.
Scaffolding early-stage simultaneous interpreting learning using computerized dynamic assessment
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-16) Jiang, Zhaokun
Computerized Dynamic Assessment (CDA) integrates assessment and instruction by algorithmically delivering immediate, adaptive scaffolding to uncover and cultivate learners’ developmental potential. Although CDA has shown promise for receptive language skills (e.g., reading and listening), its effectiveness in simultaneous interpreting (SI) remains underexplored. As a high-stakes bilingual task, SI requires the concurrent processing of source-language input and target-language output, rendering it both cognitively taxing and anxiety-inducing. To address this gap, the present study employed a pretest–intervention–posttest design with 35 novice SI learners from two intact classes, with one class serving as the CDA group (n = 18) and the other as the non-CDA group (n = 17). The CDA group received adaptive, graduated scaffolding targeting five types of complex syntactic structures, whereas the non-CDA group received static, non-graduated support. Interpreting performance was assessed using seven complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) indices, and interpreting-specific anxiety was measured with a Likert-scale questionnaire. Results indicated that the CDA group achieved significantly greater gains in syntactic complexity and fluency and reported lower interpreting anxiety; by contrast, improvements in accuracy were comparable between groups. Overall, these findings provide empirical evidence that the benefits of CDA extend beyond receptive skills to facilitate integrative, real-time oral production under combined cognitive and affective pressure.
GenAI chatbots in language learning: A systematic review of emerging affordances
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-13) Lopez, Luis; Arabadzhy, Galyna; Yu-ju Lan
Educators are increasingly using GenAI chatbots in language learning classrooms. However, without a guiding theoretical framework, GenAI use may emphasize technological capabilities while overlooking the instructional and social goals of the learning environment. In this systematic review, we draw on the usefulness framework from the field of computer-supported collaborative learning to examine 24 empirical studies on the use of GenAI chatbots in language learning classrooms published between 2022 and 2025. By tracing how educators are using GenAI chatbots’ in language learning classrooms, we identify (1) the technological, pedagogical, and social affordances that were reported in previous research and continue being used, (2) the development of new sub-affordances within these three categories, and (3) the emergence of a new category of affordances related to the emotional state of learners, which we call Emotional Affordances. This new category, furthermore, nests a new subset of chatbots’ capabilities: Engagement, Safety, and Self-Efficacy, thus expanding the existing theoretical framework. The results provide theoretical and pedagogical implications that contribute to the field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL).
Teaching social-emotional learning through AIDT in EFL classrooms
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-09) Pak, Sooyeon; Choi, Lee Jin; Matt Kessler
As the Korean Ministry of Education prepares to mandate Korean Social-Emotional Learning (K-SEL) across all grade levels starting in 2026, English teachers in South Korea face the challenge of meaningfully integrating SEL into subject-area instruction. This Technology in Practice Forum paper reports on a one-year pilot experience in which an AI-based Digital Textbook (AIDT) was used in a secondary English classroom to facilitate SEL. By using avatar customization and a daily emotion check-in in warm-up routines, the teacher created opportunities for language learners to express emotions in English, engage in small talk with the teacher, and build classroom rapport while developing both English communicative competence and social-emotional skills. Based on a one-year classroom experience, the paper discusses the benefits, challenges, and practical recommendations for the sustained integration of AI-driven educational technology and SEL in English classrooms.
AI-generated vs teacher feedback: A comparative study on EFL learners’ public speaking anxiety and oral presentation performance
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-09) Ayaz Yilmaz, Hafize; Er, Gülay
This comparative study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated feedback versus teacher-provided feedback on public speaking anxiety (PSA) and oral presentation performance among Turkish EFL learners. Adopting a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group research design, thirty university students took part in the study. They were assigned to either an experimental group receiving AI feedback or a control group receiving teacher feedback. Over five weeks, participants delivered presentations and received feedback based on their group assignment. Quantitative data were collected through the Public Speaking Anxiety Scale (PSAS) to measure anxiety levels and a standardized rubric to evaluate oral presentation performance. The findings showed that both feedback types significantly decreased students’ public speaking anxiety and improved their presentation skills. Specifically, AI-generated feedback resulted in a notably greater reduction in PSA, whereas both groups achieved similar improvements in oral performance. Qualitative data from interviews with AI group participants supported the quantitative findings, underlining increased self-awareness, practical guidance, and enhanced confidence. The study concludes that while both feedback sources are effective for skill development, AI-generated feedback holds a distinct advantage in decreasing public speaking anxiety. This underlines the value of AI as a complementary tool in EFL speaking instruction, supporting a hybrid pedagogical model that harnesses the strengths of both automated and human feedback.
Investigating the impact of chatbot design features on affective variables: A mixed-methods study
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-06) Lee, Jang Ho; Lee, Hansol; Kim, Kyungmin
This study investigated how chatbots, designed with distinct personality traits (more engaging vs. less engaging) and feedback features (basic vs. enhanced) influenced L2 learners’ affective variables, such as anxiety, enjoyment, curiosity, and boredom, during their conversational interactions. Although second language acquisition research, including AI-based chatbot studies, has examined how learners’ emotions are shaped during L2 tasks, there has been insufficient focus on how variations in chatbot characteristics affect learners’ emotional experiences. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed-methods study of undergraduate EFL students, examining their interactions with three conversational agents, each featuring distinct combinations of personality traits and feedback features. Participants engaged in conventional tasks and completed a questionnaire to assess affective variables, which was supplemented with open-ended questions to gain further insights. Our findings revealed how L2 learners’ emotional experiences differ depending on the conversational agents’ characteristics. Based on these insights, we propose the pedagogical implications for the design and implementation of chatbots for L2 learning.
Comprehension monitoring in EFL reading: Text coding and AI scaffolding
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-06) Abdelhalim, Safaa M.
Comprehension monitoring plays an important role in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading, particularly at inferential and critical levels, yet it is not consistently supported in instruction. This mixed-methods study examined the effects of two comprehension-monitoring interventions, AI-assisted dialogic scaffolding and Modified Text Coding (MTC), on first-year English majors’ literal, inferential, and critical reading comprehension. Using a 13-week quasi-experimental design, 34 undergraduate EFL learners completed pre- and post-reading comprehension tests, weekly reflections, and focus group interviews. Quantitative analyses showed significant gains for both conditions; however, in this context, the MTC group outperformed the AI-assisted group on inferential, critical, and overall comprehension. Qualitative findings indicated that AI-assisted scaffolding supported meaning clarification, reduced linguistic burden, and facilitated dialogic engagement, whereas MTC fostered more structured, self-regulated monitoring routines and deeper strategic processing. The findings contribute to EFL reading research by clarifying how comprehension-monitoring instruction supports higher-order reading processes in EFL contexts.
Extensive reading with literature circles in an advanced CFL classroom
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2026-07-06) Li, Xiaoshi; Zhou, Wenying
This study examines changes in advanced Chinese as a foreign language students’ reading attitudes and perceptions during a semester-long implementation of extensive reading (ER) with literature circle (LC) activities. The research was conducted in a Chinese Short Stories course at an American university with 12 learners. Quantitative data collected through pre- and post-course surveys of reading attitudes were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, with paired-samples t-tests as a robustness check. Qualitative data from a final reflection survey were analyzed thematically. Quantitative results showed significant increases in participants’ confidence, enjoyment, devotion, perceived practical value, and interest in reading Chinese. Qualitative findings indicated greater engagement with Chinese literature and culture, increased enjoyment of reading, discussion, and interpretation, strengthened confidence and perceived language gains, and the value of scaffolding for participation. Overall, the results suggest that incorporating ER with LC activities may be associated with positive developments in learners’ reading attitudes and engagement.
LLT Announces New Editors-in-Chief
(2026-07-02) LLT Staff