https://are.ui.ac.ir/ Applied Research on English Language en daily 1 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30849.html https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30667.html Brexit prompted an extraordinary volume of media coverage, characterized by ideological conflict and competing political narratives. Using a 125-million-word corpus of Brexit-related texts, this study applies a corpus-based critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach to examine how language actively constructs political meaning rather than simply reporting events. The findings identify four dominant discursive frames: (1) campaign-related discourse, (2) representations of political actors and institutions, (3) evaluative and ideological language, and (4) future-oriented projections. Together, these frames shape a highly polarized interpretive landscape in which Brexit emerges not merely as a political process but as a contested ideological symbol. The analysis demonstrates how framing strategies and evaluative lexical choices work collectively to produce political meaning within contemporary hybrid media environments. By highlighting the role of language in shaping public perceptions and political identities, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how ideological discourse and evaluative stance foster polarization in modern media ecologies. The findings also emphasize the importance of critical media literacy and illustrate the value of corpus-assisted discourse analysis for investigating political conflict and public debate in networked societies. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30654.html Despite growing global interconnectedness, many language programs inadequately prepare learners for real intercultural communication. This study examined the representation of intercultural pragmatic features in a locally produced EFL textbook taught in a nationwide language center in Iran. The analysis was done using six features, namely, sociocultural awareness and interactional appropriateness, empathetic engagement and perspective coordination, adaptive communication and interactional negotiability, inferencing, pragmatic motivation, and strategic competence. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on six intermediate and advanced textbooks from the English Series used in a nationwide language center. The study systematically analyzed different textbook components. Odd-numbered units from intermediate and even-numbered units from advanced textbooks were sampled. Features were coded into six categories in NVivo, and repeated verification was used to ensure coding consistency. The analysis identified 119 instances of intercultural pragmatic features. Of all six features, sociocultural awareness and interactional appropriateness appeared most frequently. However, other features were underrepresented. Moreover, advanced textbooks include 91 examples, whereas intermediate textbooks have only 28; the results point to a significant proficiency-level gap that could hinder equitable development of intercultural pragmatic competence. Based on the activity-type analysis, intermediate materials relied primarily on dialog and reading passages, while advanced materials used more listening and speaking tasks on intercultural pragmatics; however, writing tasks were rare in the series. The findings suggest a revision of textbook evaluation frameworks, enhancing intercultural pragmatic activities in learning materials (including writing tasks). Also, preparing curricula that address level-based disparities and explicitly teach pragmatic skills to underrepresented students. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30606.html Studies on the effects of caption condition and the textual enhancement of lexical items in captions on L2 viewing comprehension have shown mixed results. This study investigated whether caption condition and textual enhancement influence Iranian EFL learners’ viewing comprehension. To this end, the following viewing conditions were examined: 1) captioned viewing with 16 textually-enhanced multiword items, 2) captioned viewing with 18 textually-enhanced single words, 3) uncaptioned viewing, and 4) unenhanced captioned viewing. Sixty-two Iranian EFL learners from four intact classes were randomly allocated to one of the viewing conditions. Viewing comprehension was assessed using a 10-item comprehension test. The results showed that the textual enhancement of multiword items and single words had a positive impact on their comprehension scores. Another noteworthy outcome was that unenhanced captioned viewing and uncaptioned viewing did not lead to significantly different comprehension scores. Additionally, questionnaire data indicated that participants were accustomed to watching English videos and that the majority of them watched English videos with L2 captions. The findings suggest that textual enhancement can be incorporated into captioned materials without compromising comprehension among high-intermediate to advanced EFL learners. The findings have implications for technological developments in L2 education, including future research, instructional design, and teacher education, particularly in EFL contexts. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30603.html This research aimed to measure and chronicle supervisors’ perceived challenges and solutions regarding the integration of GenAI in students’ final project writing. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design conducted in Indonesian higher education, comprising 70 public and 105 private institutions, distributed across 8 islands in Indonesia: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Bali, Maluku, and Papua. The research participants consisted of 290 supervisors; 10 of them were selected for an interview. The instruments were a questionnaire covering 15 items on a Likert scale with 4 levels of measurement and 4 interview items validated by two experts. The questionnaire was tested on 25 respondents to prove its validity and reliability. The quantitative results revealed that 60% of the respondents have acceptance and high agreement towards the perceived challenges and solutions on the integration of GenAI in students’ final project writing. The qualitative data mentioned that supervisors faced perceived challenges related to the issues of authentic checking, plagiarism, overreliance, critical thinking, creativity, content, source accuracy, AI Illiteracy, overoptimism, a lack of writing enjoyment, and a lack of writing self-efficacy. The supervisors mentioned their perceived solutions, namely raising students’ self-awareness of mistakes, promoting guidelines, writing an AI disclaimer, and having intensive discussions, as the perceived solutions to the challenges. The study highlights the importance of creating an official guideline as the basic foundation to manage the integration of GenAI in the final project writing. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30713.html With the proliferation of research on emotions in language education informed by positive psychology, foreign language enjoyment (FLE) has gained prominence in the academic community. This bibliometric mapping analysis outlines the growth of research on FLE from 2000 to 2025. Utilizing VOSviewer and CiteSpace, the study reviews 827 FLE research documents in the Web of Science to assess the current status of the construct and identify key trends. The results revealed that the most common keywords associated with FLE were willingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. Common abstract terms included anxiety, emotion, and motivation. The most impactful document contributing to this field was identified as 'Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety: The Effect of Teacher and Learner Variables' (Dewaele et al., 2018). Jean-Marc Dewaele, Kazuya Saito, and Livia Dewaele emerged as the most productive authors, with Jean-Marc Dewaele and Livia Dewaele being the most cited. Furthermore, the leading journals were System and Language Teaching Research, predominantly featuring studies from England, with the University of London being the most significant contributor. Convenience sampling was the most prevalent sampling scheme, despite concerns regarding its validity. Underrepresented areas, such as digital gamified language learning and AI-powered learning tools, need more attention. To uncover the hidden trajectory of the construct and further probe its role in education, future research should adopt more longitudinal approaches to examining FLE in four language skills. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30638.html Drawing on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) Investment Model, this qualitative study explored how Iranian undergraduate non-English majors perceive the role of GenAI tools in mediating access to different forms of capital and shaping their investment in English academic writing. Qualitative data were generated from 75 participants across diverse academic disciplines through 65 written interviews, 10 semi-structured oral interviews, and 10 reflective diary reports, and were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). The analysis revealed six themes, representing that the learners’ investment in AI-assisted academic writing was mediated through multiple forms of capital. The analysis of the data indicated that GenAI functioned as a source of pedagogic-material capital by providing instructional support, linguistic feedback, and reusable writing resources that facilitated academic writing, although participants also recognized the need to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs. AI further enhanced psychological capital by increasing writing confidence and reducing anxiety, while raising concerns about overreliance, diminished authorial voice, and reduced independent learning. Embodied capital, including English proficiency, prompt-crafting skills, disciplinary knowledge, and AI literacy, shaped the learners’ ability to engage critically with AI. AI also reconfigured social capital by fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing while reducing interpersonal interaction and, at times, creating feelings of disconnection. Institutionalized capital both enabled access to academic writing conventions and constrained investment through limited institutional support, ambiguous AI policies, and inconsistent instructor attitudes. Finally, unequal access to technological resources and infrastructural constraints highlighted the role of digital-economic capital in shaping the learners’ investment, while revealing both experiences of educational inequality and adaptive resilience. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30708.html The present investigation examined the impact of using digital multimodal instruction on EFL learners’ technical writing development within a portfolio-based framework. The study centered on utilizing technological innovations, particularly digital photo-story makers, for multimodal instruction. To this end, an intact group of 34 homogeneous participants underwent a six-session training in digital multimodal composition (DMC). Subsequently, the participants were tasked with producing digital multimodal portfolios instead of traditional unimodal, textual compositions on assigned technical topics. They utilized digital photo-story makers such as InShot, Google, Canva, and Microsoft applications. Three digital multimodal tasks were designated as the targets for statistical analysis. The findings from repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant improvement in the participants’ general writing skill from Task 1 to Task 2; however, Task 3 did not exhibit substantial gains in writing achievement. Additionally, post-hoc analyses indicated that DMC improved writing scores in terms of "language" and "organization", whereas "content" and "communicative achievement" remained unaffected by the instruction. These results may inform stakeholders and material developers to enhance EFL teaching methodologies with more technology-integrated approaches that cater to the contemporary language learners’ interests and needs. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30719.html The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into language education has prompted interest in how AI literacy relates to learners’ autonomy, motivation, and emotions. However, limited research has examined the interrelationships and mechanisms underlying the associations among these variables. Accordingly, this study examined the direct and indirect relationships between AI literacy and L2 motivation and emotions, with L2 autonomy specified as a mediating variable using structural equation modeling (SEM). Participants were 221 volunteer Iranian EFL undergraduates at Shahrekord University, selected via convenience sampling in 2024-2025. Data were collected using Carolus et al.’s (2023) AI literacy questionnaire and Csizér et al.’s (2024) scales of L2 motivation, autonomy, and emotions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and SEM with SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 24. The hypothesized model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data based on multiple fit indices. Results indicated that AI literacy was positively associated with L2 autonomy, which in turn significantly mediated the increase in motivation and positive emotions and the decrease in negative emotions. Although the cross-sectional design and convenience sampling limit generalizability, the findings highlight autonomy as a significant mechanism underlying the associations between AI literacy and learners’ motivational and emotional outcomes. Theoretically, the study extends technology-enhanced learning research by positioning AI literacy within an integrated motivational-affective framework. Pedagogically, the findings underscore the importance of AI literacy alongside learner autonomy to support more engagement in AI-mediated L2 learning. L2 curricula should therefore integrate AI literacy development with activities that foster learner autonomy. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30720.html The development of syntactic complexity is a major concern in academic writing. Research on English for Research Publication Purposes (ERPP) has greatly neglected longitudinal investigation of the development of syntactic complexity. Guided by the skill acquisition theory, this study examined syntactic complexity over two decades in the articles published by a native and a non-native scholar, focusing on changes in 14 syntactic measures. The aim was to document change over time and an increase in writing experience. Applying a retrospective case study design, the researchers analyzed abstracts and conclusions of 75 articles written from 2000 to 2024, using the L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer (L2SCA), a web-based tool that calculates syntactic complexity. We analyzed the resulting numerical data using linear regression to identify trends in syntactic change. The findings revealed that the non-native writer's abstracts improved syntactically with time/experience, favoring longer and more sophisticated sentences. In abstracts, the native writer showed a higher association with time in sentence length than the non-native writer (annual increase of 0.25 for the native and 0.08 for the non-native writer). In conclusion sections, the non-native writer progressively simplified clauses, while the native writer demonstrated a higher association with time in sentence length (-0.4 for non-native and +0.4 for native). The findings underscore the role of publishing experience over time and first language background as variables related to syntactic development in ERPP based on the calculated regressions. Results also imply that support for the learning of syntactic sophistication should be an inseparable part of ERPP pedagogy. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30537.html Speaking constitutes a fundamental skill in second language acquisition; however, it simultaneously represents one of the most psychologically demanding tasks for many learners. The fear of negative evaluation, apprehension regarding linguistic errors, and difficulties with lexical retrieval precipitate hesitation and diminished classroom participation. Mindfulness-based breathing interventions, particularly pranayama—a system of yogic breathing techniques offer a theoretically grounded approach to ameliorating this pedagogical challenge. The present study employed a mixed-methods design to investigate the effects of pranayamic breathing techniques on speaking anxiety and oral performance among Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Participants comprised 25 intermediate-level learners (experimental group: n=13; control group: n=12) enrolled at a private language institute in Isfahan, Iran. Data were collected through planned and unplanned speaking tasks, a classroom observation anxiety checklist, and semi-structured interviews conducted during the final session. Quantitative analyses utilizing MANCOVA revealed statistically significant reductions in observable anxiety symptoms, particularly physical manifestations (p < .05) and verbal/speech disruptions (p < .05), among learners in the experimental group. However, improvements in measured speaking performance did not reach statistical significance. Qualitative thematic analysis of interview data yielded four principal themes: anxiety reduction, enhanced concentration, positive classroom atmosphere, and transferability of techniques to extra-curricular contexts. Participants reported that the breathing exercises engendered feelings of calmness, bolstered confidence, and provided strategies applicable to stressful situations beyond the language classroom. These findings suggest that pranayama constitutes a practical, low-cost, and culturally adaptable intervention for alleviating speaking anxiety and supporting learners' affective well-being in EFL contexts. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30707.html This study examines the historical evolution of English language teacher education (ELTE) in Iranian higher education, tracing its development from the Qajar era to the present through an analysis of power structures, policies, and pedagogical change. While existing research has largely focused on synchronic policy debates or program evaluations, no study has traced this trajectory across all three major sociopolitical eras of Qajar, Pahlavi, and Islamic Republic, particularly for higher education institutions under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) and its predecessors. Drawing on primary archival records, policy directives, and institutional documents analyzed through qualitative content analysis, and guided by historical comparative education, historical institutionalism, and postcolonial theory, the study reveals three persistent cross-era patterns: the enduring and intensifying centralization of state control over ELTE; a persistent political duality whereby English is pragmatically retained for scientific advancement yet ideologically rejected as a vehicle of Western cultural influence; and the structural persistence of formal program frameworks despite radical ideological shifts in content. These continuities have produced critical challenges including diminished institutional autonomy, contested and inconsistent curricula, and a fragmented pedagogical identity for ELTE professionals. The study recommends concrete reforms: curriculum flexibility within mandated frameworks, teacher-driven action research, and structured dialogue between policymakers and practitioners to foster greater professional agency within Iran’s historically centralized system. By providing the first historical analysis of ELTE at MSRT-affiliated universities, this study offers essential context for contemporary policy reform aimed at balancing national priorities with professional effectiveness. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30725.html The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised important questions about how AI-generated texts differ from human writing at the discourse level. While previous research has primarily focused on lexical and syntactic features, little attention has been paid to topical progression as a discourse marker of organization. Following the framework of systemic functional linguistics (Halliday, 2009), this study investigated whether native, non-native, and AI-generated English business emails differ systematically in their topical progression patterns and whether these topical progressions can predict text origin. Four topical progression patterns (i.e., Parallel, Sequential, Extended Parallel, and Extended Sequential) were analyzed using Poisson generalized linear models controlling for text length, followed by multinomial logistic regression for text classification. The results revealed selective rather than uniform differences across the three text types. Native texts demonstrated significantly greater use of Extended Parallel topical progression, whereas AI-generated texts exhibited higher frequencies of Extended Sequential progression. Non-native texts differed from native texts primarily through a lower frequency of Parallel topical progression, while Sequential progression showed no significant differences across the groups. The multinomial model achieved an overall classification accuracy of 85.6%, indicating that topical progression frequencies provided strong discriminatory power. Thus, it could be an interpretable linguistic framework for distinguishing AI-generated, native, and non-native writing. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30695.html The assessment of language proficiency through traditional testing methods imposes a significant resource burden in educational settings. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides neurophysiological evidence of language proficiency by assessing neural oscillations that reflect the brain's underlying learning mechanisms and cognitive readiness. This systematic review synthesizes findings from 19 studies to see whether brainwave measures can serve as dependable proxies for proficiency and to identify which view of proficiency, including linguistic, functional/communicative, cognitive/academic, and socio-cultural, has received the most attention in the oscillation literature. To that end, we searched several major databases for peer-reviewed international studies published over the past decade, from 2015 through 2025. The reviewed literature reveals robust correlations between neural oscillatory activity and language proficiency, with findings that differ across frequency bands, age groups, and populations. The results also indicate a dominance of cognitive and linguistic perspectives on language proficiency. Brainwave markers show promise as a complementary tool for supporting, rather than replacing, standard assessments, though further validation is still required. Their value lies in opening up new avenues for studying the brain's role in language learning. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30722.html This study carries out a bibliometric analysis of research on artificial intelligence (AI) applications in English speaking assessments published between 2015 and 2025. Drawing on 1,448 Scopus-indexed publications and using VOSviewer for analysis, the study examines publication trends, country/author contributions, keyword co-occurrence, citation networks, and thematic developments. Research output increased markedly after 2023, driven by rapid advances in deep learning-based speech processing, the wider adoption of automated speech evaluation technologies, and the growing demand for scalable digital assessment systems capable of supporting learning in increasingly technology-mediated educational environments. The USA‚ China‚ the UK, and Japan are the most productive countries․ They also exhibit the highest betweenness centrality in the international collaboration network․ Thematic analysis shows continued fragmentation in this field, with unsolved challenges including construct validity, ethical issues, and learner‑centered factors. The analysis reveals a rapid expansion of research after 2023, identifies the most productive countries, institutions, authors, and journals, and maps the evolution of research themes from automated speech recognition and pronunciation assessment to generative AI-supported speaking assessment. These findings establish the current knowledge structure of the field and identify emerging research directions that can inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of AI-supported English-speaking assessment. This study contributes by delivering a systematic overview of the field and identifying key directions for future research on valid, transparent, and pedagogically meaningful AI-assisted speaking assessment systems. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30791.html This study explored how agency is perceived and exercised in teaching and research among Iranian academics in Applied Linguistics and Chemistry. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten faculty members from two Iranian universities and analyzed thematically. The findings revealed clear disciplinary differences in the construction and enactment of agency. Applied Linguistics faculty viewed agency as relational, pedagogical, and classroom-centered, with teaching as the primary domain of professional influence. Research was mainly seen as a resource for enhancing instructional practice, while agency was exercised through reflective teaching, responsiveness to students, and pedagogical adaptation. In contrast, Chemistry faculty viewed agency as strategic and research-centered, expressed through research planning, scholarly productivity, resource management, and academic leadership. Interpreted through Priestley et al.’s (2026) ecological model, the findings further showed that agency emerged through the interplay of iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions. Applied Linguistics faculty drew on past teaching experiences, evaluated present classroom conditions, and oriented future agency toward pedagogical development, whereas Chemistry faculty drew on research experiences, evaluated research resources and institutional conditions, and oriented future agency toward publication, productivity, and scholarly advancement. Overall, the findings demonstrate that faculty agency is discipline-sensitive and context-dependent, shaped by disciplinary histories, present conditions, and future professional goals, highlighting the need for contextually responsive approaches to understanding and supporting faculty agency in higher education. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30792.html Chinese cultural aphasia is used to describe a common issue among Chinese English learners: they struggle to convey domestic culture accurately in English. While research on this issue has accumulated more than 2 decades following the introduction of this term in 2000, no systematic review has been conducted to synthesize this literature. To address this gap, this paper analyzes 52 key studies published from 2000 to 2025 to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the phenomenon. The results show that both students and teachers have a good command of Chinese cultural knowledge, yet lack the competence to express it in English. Meanwhile, existing English teaching materials and course arrangements also show obvious systemic shortcomings. The causes span five dimensions: historical-social factors, educational policies, textbooks and curricula, teacher and student competencies, and deeper discourse rules. Proposed countermeasures have evolved from fragmented suggestions into a systematic six-pronged approach encompassing macro-level policy, curriculum and textbook reform, pedagogical innovation, teacher development, assessment reform, and discourse system construction. Building on these findings, the study further proposes a Trans-cultural Reconstruction Framework (TRF) that integrates institutional, pedagogical, and discourse dimensions, with discourse autonomy as the ultimate goal. The implications are threefold: it clarifies a key theoretical distinction, offers practical guidance for pedagogical reform, and provides a replicable methodology for similar reviews. Future research should continue to advance in areas such as longitudinal tracking in basic education, long-term teacher development mechanisms, systematic textbook development, further exploration of discourse system construction, outcome tracking, and integration of information technology. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30871.html Textbooks mediate intercultural learning in EFL settings, but cultural representation does not necessarily foster intercultural communicative competence (ICC). This study compared eight A1–A2 student books used in Iran: Prospect 1–3, ILI New Elementary 1–3, and American English File Starter and 1. Using Byram’s (1997) ICC framework and Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) cultural typology, comparative content analysis coded ICC components and source, target, and international cultural orientations. Counts were normalized by pages and units. The results showed that cultural knowledge was the most frequent ICC component in all series, while critical cultural awareness and interaction received limited attention. Prospect mainly emphasized Iranian source culture, whereas ILI NE and AEF were more target-culture oriented. AEF provided the greatest overall ICC coverage, followed by ILI NE and Prospect, although differences in normalized coverage and component distribution were not statistically significant. ICC coverage generally increased across levels in all three series, but cultural orientation did not become consistently more balanced. Thus, the series differed in cultural orientation more than in overall ICC coverage. Because the study examined textbook content rather than classroom use, it suggests revising materials to include more balanced cultural representation and opportunities for comparison, interaction, pragmatic practice, and reflection. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30893.html The development of intercultural communicative competence remains a critical yet under-addressed challenge for Iranian EFL learners. This qualitative study aimed to explore Iranian EFL students’ lived experiences of using AI chatbots to balance the three interdependent needs of the Triple Needs Framework: linguistic, emotional, and cultural (Ghorbani & Dowlatabadi, 2023). Although originally derived from Iranian language teachers’ viewpoints and still an emerging rather than fully established theory, the framework was extended here as an analytic lens to examine whether its hierarchical, interdependent logic is recognizable in learners’ AI-mediated intercultural practice. In week 14 of the 2026 academic year, 15 upper-intermediate participants were purposively drawn from the experimental arm of a larger parent quasi-experimental study and stratified by post-intervention ICC gain and digital-literacy level. The parent study had reported overall positive but heterogeneous ICC gains in that experimental group, with digital literacy moderating the size of those gains. Each completed a semi-structured interview lasting 35–48 minutes. Data were analyzed using the six stages of induction proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). The results demonstrated inter-coder reliability with Cohen’s coefficient of κ = 0.84. Five themes were extracted, namely linguistic scaffolding and pragmatic development, emotional support and anxiety reduction, cultural awareness and critical reflexivity, cognitive-affective tension in the simultaneous fulfillment of three needs, and moderating role of digital literacy and limitations of context. The majority of the participants mentioned that the technical demands of the software were relatively easy to overcome, but the fulfillment of three basic needs caused considerable cognitive load. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30912.html What becomes visible in a school’s linguistic environment can reveal how language policies, institutional practices, and everyday communication are materialized in educational spaces. This study examined the schoolscape of a public elementary school in Aringay, La Union, Philippines, focusing on the languages displayed in school signs, their hierarchical representation and spatial distribution, their classification as top-down or bottom-up, and their relationship to the language orientations articulated in DepEd Order No. 020, s. 2025. Anchored on Geosemiotics (Scollon & Scollon, 2003), Spolsky’s (2004) Language Policy Model and the top-down and bottom-up framework of linguistic landscape analysis (Ben-Rafael et al., 2006), the study systematically documented and photographed visible linguistic signs across accessible areas of the school. Data were gathered through systematic walkthroughs and analyzed using deductive thematic analysis based on predetermined themes corresponding to the research questions. The findings reveal an uneven linguistic distribution, with English emerging as the most visible language, followed by Filipino, while Ilocano had minimal representation. English appeared across instructional, administrative, informational, safety, and achievement-related spaces, whereas Filipino was more selectively represented in practical areas. The schoolscape was also predominantly shaped by top-down signs, demonstrating the significant role of institutional actors in determining linguistic visibility. In relation to language policy, the findings show that English and Filipino are both represented, but their visibility is uneven. Overall, the schoolscape reflects the interaction of language policy orientations, institutional practices, spatial contexts, and communicative functions, while linguistic visibility alone cannot establish policy compliance or language preference. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30913.html Primary English textbooks do not merely distribute visibility; they also model who may initiate, question, direct, coordinate, decide, and solve problems. This study examined gendered first-order agency in all eight Global Success primary English textbooks used in Vietnam. A source-verified content analysis coded seven non-mutually exclusive behavioural categories in 1,013 eligible character occurrences across Grades 1–5, supplemented by qualitative contextual interpretation of selected source cases. Frequencies and gender contrasts were examined using descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact tests with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment, chi-square analysis, grade-adjusted logistic regression, and page- and section-clustered generalized estimating equations. Of these, 108 (10.7%) met the agency threshold. Female and male occurrences had similar overall rates (11.3% and 12.3%), and gender remained non-significant after adjustment for grade. Nevertheless, male characters more often initiated interactions and asked advancing questions, whereas female-skewed leadership was concentrated almost entirely in teacher roles. No source-confirmed occurrence met the thresholds for consequential decision-making or problem-solving. Agency varied significantly but weakly across grades: Grade 1 was markedly lower than Grades 2–5, but the later sequence showed no linear progression. The findings demonstrate that aggregate parity can coexist with behavioural, role-bound, and grade-specific asymmetries, supporting source-gated, fine-grained analysis in textbook evaluation and materials development. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_30914.html Abstract: Many Indonesian university students find speaking English difficult because of anxiety and few opportunities to practice. This study evaluated VozVibe, an Android application that gives automated feedback on learners' speech using automatic speech recognition (ASR) and a large language model (LLM), sets speaking tasks in familiar Indonesian contexts, and uses group-based gamification framed around the Indonesian principle of Gotong Royong (mutual assistance). Its design drew on the Affective Filter Hypothesis, Self-Determination Theory, and sociocultural theory. In a randomized controlled trial, all 72 third-semester English Department students taking a speaking course at an Indonesian university in 2025/2026 were randomly assigned to VozVibe (n = 36) or conventional instruction (n = 36) for 16 weeks. Speaking was tested before, immediately after, and about three months after the intervention. A linear mixed model showed larger improvement in the VozVibe group at the immediate (d = 0.60) and delayed (d = 0.96) post-tests; the later advantage came mainly from the larger gain during the intervention rather than from less forgetting. Questionnaires and interviews suggested that students found the familiar tasks less stressful and valued the group features and self-paced progression. Because the application was compared as a whole with regular classes, the effect of AI feedback cannot be separated from that of additional practice. Culturally embedded AI applications can give students more speaking practice and feedback than a conventional class, and delayed post-tests are needed to check whether such gains last.