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- PaperLanguage Teaching Research22 Jul 2026
AI-Assisted Digital Storytelling in EFL Teacher Education: A Qualitative Case Study of Digital and Multimodal Literacy Development
Bessie Mitsikopoulou
A qualitative case study of 69 reflective papers from EFL student teachers using generative AI for digital storytelling found that algorithmic limitations fostered critical multimodal design skills, while human input remained essential for emotional coherence.
Original abstract
This qualitative case study explores how English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers engaged with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in the collaborative design of digital stories within an advanced undergraduate course in 2024. During the semester, participants critically evaluated and applied various AI applications, such as text-to-image generators, automated video editors and speech synthesis tools, to support different stages of multimodal story production, including script drafting, visual design, audio narration and video editing. Drawing on a corpus of 69 reflective papers (approximately 75,000 words), the study examines how student teachers integrated visual, auditory and textual elements to achieve multimodal cohesion and narrative coherence. The analysis focuses on participants’ practices and strategies for aligning modes, maintaining consistency across media, and adapting to the constraints of AI-generated content. Findings indicate that the project’s primary pedagogical significance lay not in technical efficiency but in the productive ‘friction’ generated by algorithmic limitations, which led participants to move beyond passive tool use and become critical designers of meaning, demonstrating sophisticated multimodal awareness. While AI supported rapid content generation, the human element remained the narrative’s essential ‘emotional glue’, ensuring affective resonance and coherence. Overall, the study suggests that experiential engagement with AI-assisted composition may enable future educators to move beyond functional skills and develop into critically reflective architects of digital narratives.
- PaperRELC Journal6 Jul 2026
Between silence and speaking: Willingness to communicate and global competence in Japanese EFL classrooms
Fern Sakamoto, Peter Roger
Japanese university EFL students view active English participation as essential for global competence but perceive it as socially risky in class, causing silence not from lack of motivation but from a dilemma between global expectations and local norms. Willingness to communicate (WTC) is better understood as a latent, context-dependent capacity rather than mere verbal output. The study calls for EFL pedagogy to move beyond speech-centric models and create spaces for context-sensitive engagement.
Original abstract
Global competence-oriented English as a foreign language (EFL) education in Asia increasingly emphasizes communicative participation in English, yet classroom silence continues to characterize university EFL classes. This study examines data collected from a focus group, questionnaire and Delphi study to explore Japanese university students’ perceptions of willingness to communicate (WTC) in relation to EFL education and global competence. Findings reveal that while students view active English use as essential for global competence, they simultaneously perceive such behavior as socially risky within the Japanese classroom context. Rather than reflecting a lack of motivation, confidence or engagement, low levels of classroom verbal participation emerge as a socially situated dilemma between global communication expectations and locally embedded interactional norms. The study further demonstrates that WTC cannot be equated with verbal output, but is better understood as a latent, context-dependent capacity that may or may not be enacted through speech. From a global competence perspective, effective communication entails the ability to interpret and adapt to interactional conditions, rather than simply frequency of speech. Implications are discussed for EFL pedagogy in Asia, highlighting the need to move beyond speech-centric models of participation and create interactional spaces that enable context-sensitive engagement in English.