esl-writing
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- PaperSystemForthcoming · 1 Aug 2026
“I Haven't felt AI writing is taking away my agency as a person”: A longitudinal study of ESL students' use of GenAI in academic literacies development
Xiao Tan
A longitudinal study examines how ESL students use generative AI in developing academic literacies, finding that students do not perceive a loss of personal agency.
- PaperTESOL Quarterly16 Jul 2026
Fostering Fine‐Tuned Prompt Literacy for Multimodal Writing: A Systemic Functional Linguistics‐Informed Framework
Xiao Tan, Chaoran Wang, Ruonan Zhao
The authors propose a pedagogical framework that combines Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) with fine-tuned prompt literacy to support English learners' use of GenAI image generators in multimodal writing. Drawing on ESL student photo essay projects, they argue that integrating multimodal and GenAI literacies is more effective than teaching them separately. The framework guides students in designing prompts using the ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions.
Original abstract
The rise of GenAI‐powered image generation tools presents new opportunities for English learners to engage in digital multimodal composing (DMC) in both creative and critical ways. At the same time, it calls for a reconceptualization of DMC pedagogy in language education. In this article, we build on the concept of fine‐tuned prompt literacy (Kang & Yi, 2023) in the context of GenAI‐assisted multimodal writing and introduce a pedagogical framework informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to support its development and implementation. We conceptualize fine‐tuned prompt literacy at the intersection of multimodal literacy and GenAI literacy, emphasizing the need for students to envision meaningful GenAI outcomes and engage with GenAI tools critically and strategically. Drawing on our research on ESL students' photo essay creation with GenAI image generators, we show that separating instruction on multimodal and GenAI literacies may hinder students' process of creating multimodal resources in an intentional and rhetorically effective way. To address this gap, we present an SFL‐informed framework that guides students in designing prompts based on the ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions. Teaching observation and students' writing from a first‐year ESL writing course illustrates the framework's potential to enhance GenAI‐integrated DMC instruction. This brief report offers both theoretical insights and practical strategies for teaching multimodal writing in the era of GenAI.
- PaperDOAJ — ELT & TESOL1 May 2023
The influences of cultural characteristics in writing English: Perspectives from multilingual learners
Rahma Fitriana
This case study of two Indonesian ESL students in Australian high schools found no significant differences between their first and additional language writing, aside from grammar difficulties. Factors like teacher instruction, feedback, classroom environment, and home literacy practices influenced performance. The study advocates for an intercultural rhetoric approach that values diverse cultural backgrounds in ESL writing classrooms.
Original abstract
Research studies have discussed about potential influences of the learners’ cultural characteristics on writing in the first language to writing in English. However, only limited bodies of literature highlighted the phenomenon from the learners’ perceptions and experiences. Using a case study approach, the current study interviewed two ESL writing students who come from Indonesia and went to Australian high schools. The audio-recorded interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings of the study show that writing in their first and additional languages as well as writing in English do not have significant differences, despite a few difficulties dealing with English grammar. There were several other factors which could also determine students’ performance in writing classes, such as teachers’ instruction, teachers’ feedback, classroom environment, and home literacy practices. The participants’ experiences have demonstrated that intercultural rhetoric (IR) better approached ESL writers as it views culture in complex and dynamic perspectives, and acknowledges learners’ different cultural backgrounds. The learners expect that the writing teachers aware of potential cultural differences in their writing and provide more intercultural opportunities. This article also highlights the IR-informed pedagogical approach which can potentially utilize the strengths of multicultural and multilingual writers in ESL classrooms.