Gading Journal for the Social Sciences (e-ISSN 2600-7568)

Redefining Lesson Planning:

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The increasing use of generative artificial intelligence in higher education has drawn attention to its potential role in supporting teaching practices, particularly in language education. This study explored English lecturers’ perceptions of ChatGPT as a tool for lesson planning and teaching support, focusing on its benefits and challenges. A quantitative approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and administered to English lecturers at a public university in Pahang. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that most lecturers had prior experience using ChatGPT and generally viewed it positively, especially in terms of its usability, convenience, and ability to enhance teaching practices. At the same time, concerns related to data security, privacy, and the potential impact on critical thinking were evident. These findings provide practical insights into lecturers’ acceptance of generative AI and highlight the importance of integrating ChatGPT in a manner that is both pedagogically sound and ethically responsible.

Encountering Hedging in Advertising Discourse:

Kamisah Ariffin, Misyana Susanti Husin — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Advertisements have become a salient feature in our daily life. With fierce brand competition in the market, we now encounter products, services and ideas through many types of platforms, from the traditional print materials to digital and social media platforms. In this digital era, advertising discourse has been much embedded in daily media use through entertainment, influencer content and even personalised recommendations generated by algorithms. This study observes the use of hedging as a dual linguistic strategy in contemporary advertising discourse as part of its persuasive technique. Applying a qualitative discourse analysis of 30 print advertisements, influencer promotions and AI-mediated advertising contents, this study draws on insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The analysis indicates that hedges do not only show uncertainty, but also function as conviction markers that strengthen persuasive messages. The use of hedges allows advertisers and content creators to suggest effectiveness, objectivity and credibility of the advertising claims while at the same time reduces the level of commitment towards the claims and provide some kind of discursive protection. The findings point towards the importance of developing critical linguistic awareness as part of consumer education in the digital age. It is the premise of the study that learning to evaluate persuasive language does not have to be taught in formal educational settings, but can also be achieved through everyday encounters with advertising in real-world environments, particularly in the current digital situation.

Exploring the Motivational Potential of Intralingual Subtitled Videos as ‘Frugal’ Digital Tool for English Vocabulary Learning

Farahiya Zalikha Zakaria, Mohd Azri Abd Jalil — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Recent developments in multimedia-assisted language learning have encouraged educators to use more digital tools in the classroom. However, many feel pressured and struggle to adopt them especially when they require training, regular practice, or costly subscriptions. In English vocabulary learning, ESL educators must design effective pedagogy strategies incorporating technology use that are practical and accessible for both teachers and students. In this regard, intralingual subtitled videos (ISVs) offer a ‘frugal’, simple and familiar digital solution. Involving 30 ESL students of a Form 2 class from a secondary school in Melaka, this mixed-method research investigated the extent to which intralingual subtitled videos (ISVs) influence their motivation towards English vocabulary learning. The findings demonstrate that 90% of participants experienced moderate to high motivation when learning English vocabulary through the ISV, with qualitative data showing three themes that further supports its motivational impact: (1) the ability to learn new vocabulary, (2) the ability to understand the form, meaning, and use of the targeted vocabulary, and (3) the entertainment qualities which make learning vocabulary a fun, interesting, and encouraging experience.

The Benefits of Media and Entertainment in Creating Low-Anxiety Learning Environments for Early Language Acquisition:

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The cognitive development period is at its zenith during one’s early childhood, especially in language acquisition. This study aims to inspect the direct benefits of media and entertainment exposure on second language acquisition among young learners by employing Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis (1982). It investigates the notion that media and entertainment used in instructions and low-anxiety activities may lead to better language acquisition of multidisciplinary than that of the traditional counterparts. A literature review of recent publications was conducted to document and attest the Affective Filter hypothesis. The findings show that there are major benefits of the employment of entertainment for informal learning activities in terms of better vocabulary, polished pronunciation, improved sentence structure and comprehension. This emphasises the importance of the use of entertainment as one of the major fundamentals to build the foundation of English proficiency (function over form) among young learners in preparation for the future years of schooling. This research encourages further investigations into the other factors in a holistic manner in influencing early language acquisition trajectories among young children.

AI Dependency in Literary Studies:

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Technological advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is shifting traditional teaching and learning approaches to suit individual’s needs in diverse fields of study including literature. Literature as a subject is representative of human cognitive and emotional capacity to interpret literary works. However, the integration of AI in understanding literary texts to produce literary analysis has raised the concerns on ‘human touch’ or human interpretation beside academic integrity and ethical consideration. This study investigated the utilisation patterns, perceptions, and academic dependency of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools during literary analysis. The main objective is to examine how tertiary students engage with AI tools -specifically whether they use AI as a cognitive substitute or as a collaborative scaffold - when interpreting literary texts. Using a quantitative survey design, data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages). The sample comprised 88 undergraduate students majoring in English Language Studies (rather than English Literature) at a Malaysian public university. Descriptive findings revealed universal adoption among respondents, with 100% having used AI tools for literature tasks (50.0% occasionally, 34.1% frequently). Generative AI (49.7% of selections) and Grammar/Style Checkers (39.1%) were the most utilised tools. Students predominantly delegated lower-order structural tasks (e.g., explaining concepts, 20.2%; summarising elements, 18.2%), while retaining primary authority over higher-order interpretation. Most students viewed AI's ideal role as a "Tutor" (40.9%) or "Co-Pilot" (33.0%). These findings suggest that English Language Studies undergraduates engage in self-regulated cognitive offloading rather than uncritical dependency, providing empirical insights into strategic AI integration in literary studies.

Authorship Ethics in the Age of AI:

Nadhratunnaim Abas — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Who should be credited when an AI system contributes to a manuscript or creative work depends partly on the setting. Academic publishing focuses on who verified the evidence and accepted responsibility for the text. Meanwhile, copyright scholarship concerns originality and legally recognised human contribution. We examine how these questions appear in Scopus-indexed research rather than assuming that authorship has one meaning across disciplines. The dataset contains 263 publications from 2005-2025, including articles, reviews, conference papers, books and book chapters. No language filter was applied. We analysed publication and citation metadata and used VOSviewer to examine keyword co-occurrence, average publication years and author co-citation. Research output was concentrated in 2023-2025 (218 records, 82.9%), with 119 publications solely in 2025. India contributed 38 affiliation-linked records, followed by the United States with 36. In the original Scopus subject-area chart, Social Sciences accounted for 40.2% of the displayed distribution, Computer Science for 20.8% and Arts and Humanities for 11.3%. The most common unmerged author keywords were ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘authorship’ and ‘copyright’. Keyword networks place publishing integrity alongside copyright and creative ownership, while co-citation connections are dominated by legal and philosophical scholarships. These patterns document the expansion of research across related but distinct problems. Nevertheless, they cannot establish whether specific legal arguments are sound or AI policies effective.

AI-Assisted Language Performance and Language Development:

Badli Esham Ahmad — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has become increasingly common in education, particularly after the introduction of ChatGPT and similar systems. In language education, the development is more apparent because language is both the means of interaction with GenAI and the subject that the learners are trying to develop. The main argument of this paper is that better AI-assisted language performance should not automatically be taken as evidence of language development. Learners can use GenAI to obtain explanations, practise conversations, translate, revise writing and receive immediate feedback. Teachers may also use it to prepare lessons, develop materials and support classroom activities. However, the use of GenAI also raises a basic issue in language learning. A learner may be able to produce a better text or a more accurate response with AI assistance, but this does not necessarily mean that an equivalent level of language development has taken place. Thus, this paper intends to look at the relationship between AI, teachers, learners and language development. It discusses the movement from digital education to AI-mediated education, the changing role of teachers and the importance of AI literacy and professional judgement. The paper also looks at the use of AI in language input, interaction, writing, feedback and multilingual practices. Several issues are discussed, including dependency, authorship, assessment, accuracy, access and teacher deskilling. This is a conceptual paper. The discussion draws selectively on recent peer-reviewed studies and major institutional reports, mainly from 2023 to 2026, chosen for their direct relevance to GenAI in language education, teacher practice, learner use, feedback, assessment and language development. Based on the discussion, a conceptual lens is suggested where teacher judgement, learner agency, AI mediation and institutional conditions are considered together. The paper argues that AI can support language learning, but the value of that support should be judged from what learners are eventually able to do with the language, not only from the quality of an AI-assisted product. Its main contribution is to make the difference between assisted performance and language development more explicit in discussions of GenAI and language education.