This study investigated the effects of AI-assisted lexical seeding on receptive synonym knowledge among A2-level EFL learners. Fourteen Japanese university students completed pre- and post-tests measuring vocabulary knowledge and confidence after exposure to either teacher-created stories (Set 1) or hybrid AI-teacher co-authored stories (Set 2). Set 2 contained significantly higher lexical density (212 vocabulary occurrences versus 71). Results showed Set 2 produced superior gains in both actual vocabulary knowledge (+0.4958 vs. +0.1986) and learner confidence (+0.4156 vs. +0.0304). Despite measurable differences, student perceptions revealed no preference between sets, with both receiving positive evaluations. These findings suggest AI-enhanced materials can significantly improve vocabulary acquisition without compromising learner satisfaction.
Nevitt Craig Anthony (Fri,) studied this question.