Exploring prompt iteration process through generative AI image creation in EFL vocabulary learning
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Yohan Hwang
Yohan Hwang is an associate professor of Department of English Language & Literature at Jeonbuk National University in South Korea. He holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education with a specialization of TESOL and World Language Education from the University of Georgia. His research interests include AI-based language instruction and prompt literacy development.
,
Jang Ho Lee
Jang Ho Lee received his DPhil in education from the University of Oxford, and is presently a Professor at Chung-Ang University, South Korea. His areas of interest are CALL, L1 use in L2 teaching, and vocabulary acquisition. All correspondence regarding this publication should be addressed to him.
and
Dongkwang Shin
Dongkwang Shin received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington and is currently a Professor at Gwangju National University of Education, South Korea. His research interests include corpus linguistics, CALL, and AI-based language learning.
Abstract
Amid the growing use of GenAI in second language education and its emerging multimodality, this study investigated how Korean undergraduates studying EFL enacted prompt iteration with a text-to-image generator to support multimodal vocabulary learning. Participants read etymology-rich word stories, sketched visualizations, and iteratively refined prompts until the images aligned with their intentions. Data included AI-generated artworks, reflective papers documenting the process, and a vocabulary learning strategies survey. Overall, learners reported high use of strategies after the task. Analysis of artworks and reflections revealed a metacognitive–strategic cycle: learners monitored and evaluated outputs, then strategically varied contextual features to negotiate meaning and achieve nuanced imagery. Framed as both a prompt-engineering technique and a literacy practice involving planning, monitoring, and evaluation, prompt iteration emerged as central to GenAI-mediated vocabulary learning, highlighting learners’ agency in exploring word meanings.
About the authors
Yohan Hwang is an associate professor of Department of English Language & Literature at Jeonbuk National University in South Korea. He holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education with a specialization of TESOL and World Language Education from the University of Georgia. His research interests include AI-based language instruction and prompt literacy development.
Jang Ho Lee received his DPhil in education from the University of Oxford, and is presently a Professor at Chung-Ang University, South Korea. His areas of interest are CALL, L1 use in L2 teaching, and vocabulary acquisition. All correspondence regarding this publication should be addressed to him.
Dongkwang Shin received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington and is currently a Professor at Gwangju National University of Education, South Korea. His research interests include corpus linguistics, CALL, and AI-based language learning.
Acknowledgments
This manuscript has not been published or presented elsewhere in part or in entirety and is not under consideration by another journal. All study participants provided informed consent. We have read and understood your journal’s policies, and we believe that neither the manuscript nor the study violates any of these. There are no conflicts of interest to declare. There is no funding to report.
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