Utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Vocabulary Learning by EFL Omani Students: The Effect of Age, Gender, and Level of Study

AI tools have enabled FLLs to navigate their journeys of learning languages. This poses several questions, particularly about the most common AI tools used in learning vocabulary and the attitudes of EFL Omani students toward using AI tools in learning English. A mixed-method research design was utilised, and the sampling included 236 respondents studying in the Sultanate of Oman. An SPSS version 29 was employed in analysing the quantitative data, whereas the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The qualitative data revealed that EFL Omani students depended heavily on Google Translation (44%) as the highest AI tool, followed by the Dictionary Application (32%), ChatGPT (22%), Chat Bot (17.40%), and Duolingo (15.70%). In addition, translating the meaning of a new word occupied the highest learning strategy (frequency: 141), followed by learning new vocabulary (frequency: 134), translating the meaning of a full sentence (frequency: 91), and learning the correct pronunciation of strange words (frequency: 90), whereas learning grammar, enhancing writing and reading skills had the lowest frequency. The quantitative data showed that the overall mean is (3.67), which reveals a high frequency of use of AI tools in learning vocabulary. The lowest mean (3.45) is associated with trusting the new vocabulary recommended by AI tools, whereas the positive effectiveness of AI tools has the highest mean (3.92). However, it was found that age, gender, and level of study do not affect EFL Omani students’ use of AI tools to learn vocabulary.