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Ngo Cong-Lem

Dalat University, Vietnam

 

Hung Phu Bui

Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam

 

The acceleration of digital technologies such as mobile applications, social media platforms, and blended learning has transformed the field of TESOL in terms of scope, pace, and pedagogies of teaching and learning (Barrot, 2022; Gaol & Hutagalung, 2020; Shadiev et al., 2020; Teng, 2024). Within this broader digital transformation, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has further introduced unprecedented affordances, opportunities, and challenges for TESOL practices. A growing body of research suggests that emerging technologies, particularly GenAI tools, can support more personalised learning, multimodal engagement, and authentic language use (Cong-Lem et al., 2025; Law, 2024; Lee et al., 2025). 

At the same time, the scholarship reflects both optimism and caution. On the one hand, previous studies indicate that mobile- and GenAI-assisted language learning can enhance vocabulary retention (Abdelhalim & Alsehibany, 2025), while AI-driven feedback tools may facilitate iterative writing development (Kim et al., 2025). Social media has likewise been shown to function as an authentic environment for communicative practice (Barrot, 2022). On the other hand, scholars have emphasised the urgent need for methodologically rigorous and contextually grounded research that examines not only whether emerging technologies are adopted, but also how they are pedagogically adapted to local needs and sustained within diverse educational ecosystems (Duman et al., 2015; Shadiev et al., 2020). This concern is particularly salient in Asian contexts, where educational traditions, policy priorities, and sociocultural norms mediate both the uptake and pedagogical impact of technology in distinctive ways (Huang & Teo, 2020; Lai et al., 2022; Le & Bui, 2021). In response to this growing demand for theoretically informed and empirically grounded insights, this special issue examines technology-assisted TESOL from multiple but interconnected perspectives.

A total of twelve papers have been selected after a rigorous peer-review process, collectively showcasing the pedagogical, technological, and contextual diversity of technology-enhanced language education (TELE). Conducted across a range of settings, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Iran, and Thailand, the studies employ mixed-methods, quasi-experimental designs, systematic review approaches, PLS-SEM modelling, and explanatory sequential analyses. The theoretical lenses adopted span the Technology Acceptance Model, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, Task-Based and TaskSupported Language Teaching, translanguaging, engagement frameworks, and perspectives on identity, motivation, and autonomy/self-regulation.

These twelve contributions cover a wide spectrum of TELE topics and outcomes, ranging from perceptions of technological affordances and determinants of teacher adoption to interventions targeting vocabulary, speaking, writing, pronunciation, translation, and workplace communication. They also examine psychological constructs such as confidence, identity, anxiety reduction, engagement profiles, and willingness to communicate (WTC), highlighting the complex interplay between technological tools and learners’ cognitive, affective, and social development.