English as a medium of instruction in the age of AI: Challenges, opportunities, and linguistic implications

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

The Engage–Study–Activate Approach in EFL Education: A Literature Review of Its Principles, Applications, and Pedagogical Implications

The Engage–Study–Activate (ESA) approach has emerged as a flexible framework for organizing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction around learner engagement, focused language study, and meaningful language activation. This literature review examines the principles, applications, pedagogical advantages, challenges, and implications of the ESA approach in EFL education. The review highlights how the Engage stage can stimulate learners’ interest and motivation, the Study stage can develop knowledge of linguistic forms and functions, and the Activate stage can provide opportunities for purposeful communication. The literature indicates that ESA can be applied to grammar, vocabulary, speaking, listening, reading, writing, pronunciation, and integrated language skills. Its major pedagogical advantages include promoting learner participation, communicative competence, confidence, collaboration, contextualized learning, and learner autonomy. At the same time, implementation may be constrained by large class sizes, limited instructional time, mixed proficiency levels, insufficient teacher preparation, limited resources, examination-oriented systems, and difficulties in assessing communicative outcomes. The review further identifies gaps concerning longitudinal research, diverse EFL contexts, comparisons of ESA lesson patterns, learner individual differences, teacher perspectives, and technology- and artificial-intelligence-supported instruction. Overall, ESA provides a practical and adaptable framework for balancing linguistic accuracy with communicative fluency and for creating learner-centered EFL classrooms. Its effectiveness, however, depends on contextual adaptation, purposeful lesson design, teacher expertise, and alignment among learning objectives, instructional activities, and assessment.

Feedback in EFL Classrooms: A Narrative Review of Definitions, Characteristics, Functions, Types, and Challenges

Research on feedback in English language education has grown rapidly. Nevertheless, its findings remain scattered across studies that each address a single aspect, such as corrective feedback types, peer feedback, or Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated commentary, in isolation. Teachers and researchers seeking an integrated understanding must assemble it from separate sources. This article presents a narrative literature review that draws these strands into a single reference covering five dimensions: the definition and nature of feedback, the characteristics that mark it as effective, its functions and benefits, its types across five classification lenses (source of provision, correction variation and timing, modality, skill context, and nature of the message), and the challenges of implementation. Sources published between 2020 and 2026 were retrieved through the Consensus academic search engine and screened for relevance to the English as a foreign language (EFL) context, with seminal pre-2020 works retained as conceptual anchors. Across all five dimensions, the literature converges on one distinction: feedback supports learning when it treats the learner as an active participant rather than a passive recipient of judgment. Benefits such as accuracy gains and feedback literacy depend on that participation, and expanding the supply of feedback through automated tools does not, by itself, produce learning. The review closes by mapping underexplored areas, including descriptive versus evaluative feedback and under-researched EFL contexts such as Eastern Indonesia.

Content and Language Integration in Academic Reading: Fostering EFL Learners’ Comprehension and Critical Thinking

The study investigates how this integration affects comprehension, critical thinking, student engagement, learner autonomy, and the particular difficulties that students face using thematic analysis. Student perspectives, classroom observations, and classroom records were used to collect data. Using detailed information from ten informants with a range of skill levels, this qualitative case study examines the impact of combining language and content in academic reading for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in higher education. The results show that students' reading comprehension is much improved by contextualizing reading materials, structuring instruction, and connecting the subject to real-world scenarios. Giving students the chance to relate academic material to their own experiences increases their engagement and sense of autonomy. However, issues with technical jargon, a lack of prior knowledge, and the interpretation of statistical or graphical data remain obstacles. Scaffolded analysis, modeling of reading strategies, and pre-teaching of specialist terminology are among the effective tactics identified. These findings highlight the importance of adaptable, targeted teaching strategies for EFL students. Such interventions are essential for fostering critical thinking, academic literacy, and independence. Integrating language and content supports EFL learners in overcoming reading challenges and achieving academic success.

Emerging Trends and Discourses on Artificial Intelligence in Education: Its Promises and Pedagogical Implications

This study explored the emerging trends, current practices, challenges, and pedagogical implications of Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd) in the Division of Oroquieta City during the School Year 2025- 2026. Employing a descriptive qualitative research design, data were gathered from purposively selected public secondary school teachers through an adapted questionnaire, interviews, and document analysis. The findings revealed that AI is increasingly used as a teaching and learning support tool for lesson planning, assessment, student engagement, and administrative tasks, contributing to improved efficiency and personalized learning. However, challenges such as limited infrastructure, unequal access to technology, capacity and skills gaps, ethical and academic integrity concerns, and resistance to AI adoption persist. The study further indicated that AI integration transforms the teacher's role toward facilitation and mentoring while highlighting the need to strengthen learner-centered approaches, critical thinking, and digital literacy. Overall, the study underscores the importance of institutional readiness, professional development, and clear policy frameworks to ensure ethical, equitable, and sustainable AI integration in education.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Formal and Non-Formal Learning