Editing Openai/68dbfe17-7fb4-800b-a4e8-28b4e7e38928 (section)

=== Assistant: Great — here’s the full text with a short introductory paragraph added to frame your argument and draw readers in: ===
Great — here’s the full text with a short introductory paragraph added to frame your argument and draw readers in:

Emergent Language: A Broader View

Emergent language has long been a focus of English Language Teaching, but it is often defined narrowly in terms of what teachers notice and work with during a lesson. This article argues for a broader understanding: emergent language should include any spontaneous, communicative language that learners produce — whether or not a teacher chooses to exploit it. In today’s world, where learners can use GenAI tools to analyse and refine their own output, this wider view has important implications for both classroom practice and learner autonomy.

Emergent language in English Language Teaching refers to language that arises spontaneously during communicative activities.

Emergent language is any language that students produce spontaneously to express ideas, whether spoken or written. Teachers can choose to focus on it to help individuals or the whole class develop aspects of language they consider valuable.

Emergent language exists whenever learners communicate spontaneously. Teachers may choose to exploit it for pedagogical purposes, but its occurrence is independent of teacher intervention. Even without feedback, using the language is part of the learning process.

While teachers traditionally guided learners in noticing and refining emergent language, GenAI tools now allow learners to do much of this autonomously. A skilled teacher, however, can still help learners choose effective prompts, interpret feedback, and apply what they learn efficiently. Although learners can ask for simple corrections, it is often more productive to request alternative ways of expressing the same idea — at the word, sentence, or text level — so they can compare and choose the most suitable form.

Learners would do well to experiment with different prompts to explore various types of feedback and see which they prefer. The most useful approach may depend on the type of text or task. For example, they might try prompts such as "Give me three alternative ways to say this" or "How could I make this more polite?" and compare which responses best meet their needs.

Repeating a task immediately after feedback can help consolidate learning, while repeating it again after a delay — as in spaced practice — can strengthen retention. The ideal timing and frequency will vary, but a combination of immediate and delayed repetition may be most effective and keep learners engaged.

Is it possible for learners to develop the ability to seek and use feedback independently, without the guidance of a teacher? Potentially, yes; however, teacher involvement can accelerate and enhance this process. Helping learners become autonomous and develop as lifelong learners should be a key aim of any educator.

This intro sets up why your rethinking of “emergent language” is significant and positions the rest of the piece as forward-looking — especially relevant for teachers navigating the shift to AI-assisted learning.

Would you like me to also suggest a stronger, more engaging title (something that would catch the attention of teachers at a conference or in a journal)?