Speakers
Description
As a response to the technology-supported education trend in English language teaching, Native was developed in the US to support international teachers and IELTS takers in Speaking, solidifying AI's role as a socio-educational tool rather than an isolated solution. Aiming to investigate the interactions of this teacher-mediated technology in generating feedback for speaking, this mixed-method study explores the interplay between the agency and autonomy of the teacher in providing facilitation for student engagement through the design and interpretation of AI feedback. Through active usage of Native, 4 Vietnamese IELTS instructors are selected as primary participants, while their students (28 learners) are the secondary participants. The study goes through multiple stages, tracking perceptions of the learner after the teacher’s introduction of mediation strategies. The data is collected with the use of quantitative instruments (questionnaires and app-generated Speaking score) to reveal motivation and perceptions among students and qualitative methods, using semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and observations, to present the chosen pedagogical methods and learners’ reflective processes. As teacher agency and dynamics in deploying technology-enhanced strategies in language teaching are still under-explored, results of this research confirm that teachers play a key role in improving productivity and efficiency of Native, allowing for seamless integration and further development. Also, students’ engagement in assignments increases as a reaction to teachers’ instructional strategies and the prompt AI-generated feedback. Finally, this shows that AI does not replace but complements teachers’ role in language teaching, though more research should be done to confirm these initial findings and observations.
Biography
Nguyen Vu Xuan Trieu is a dedicated and experienced EFL and IELTS instructor with a proven track record of language teaching for diverse demographics, ranging from high school students to adult learners. He is currently holding the position of a senior instructor at IPP Education, which is an institute in Ho Chi Minh City. His focus on IELTS preparation and conversational English for Vietnamese students all through the years, along with his ongoing enrolment in the Master’s programme in Applied Linguistics from Curtin University, has solidified his objectives of assisting in motivation maintenance and in overcoming challenges in language learning through the use of technology-supported methodologies. He firmly stands on the grounds that language education should liberate and support learners, enabling them to be exposed to an authentic and engaging learning environment while not neglecting the concurrent development of advancements in modern technology for the acquisition of English as a foreign language.
