Hwang, Lee, & Shin (2025). Exploring prompt iteration process...

[Dongkwang Shin]

Hwang, Y., Lee, J. H., & Shin, D. Exploring prompt iteration process through generative AI image creation in EFL vocabulary learning. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2025-0089 등록전
November 18, 2025 Online first published. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397715320_Exploring_prompt_iteration_process_through_generative_AI_image_creation_in_EFL_vocabulary_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.
Keywords: artificial intelligence literacy; generative artificial intelligence; prompt iteration; vocabulary learning strategies