Visual language learning: Exploring the effects of artificial intelligence-generated animations on vocabulary and motivational growth

This study aimed to utilize AI tools to create animations to assess the impact of the created cartoons on vocabulary growth and motivation levels among learners. For this purpose, 80 Omani EFL learners with a pre-intermediate level of English proficiency were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group, each with the same number of students. To collect the data, the Updated Vocabulary Level Test (UVLT) by Webb et al. (2017) was used as a vocabulary measure, and a motivation questionnaire by Tugtekin and Dursun (2022) was administered to the experimental group. The study's findings revealed that both groups made progress in vocabulary, with the experimental group showing significantly more improvements in the posttest than the control group; their counterparts in the control group did not show significant improvements in vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, the detailed analysis of the motivation questionnaire revealed a significant increase in the motivation level of students to use AI tools for creating animations to learn vocabulary. Teachers, students, and institutions can apply the study's results.