Chapter 7. Discussing the Vignette Technique for Assessing Student Perceptions of Ethical AI Use in the L2 Learning Environment
Joel Neff and Kasumi Arciaga
Abstract
Continual re-evaluation of student needs is critical to any curriculum. As AI tools evolve and propagate throughout learning environments, the need to assess student perceptions of AI use can become an annual undertaking on the part of teachers and curriculum designers. The vignette technique assesses participants' perceptions by asking them to engage with a hypothetical scenario and by then gauging their responses. Effective vignettes are relatable, e.g., the participants can see themselves in the scenario, and plausible. They should also provoke an emotional response from the participants. For the researcher, vignettes are an adjustable and repeatable methodology. Thus, as AI tools and learner populations change over time, vignettes written to assess a given set of learners' perceptions can be quickly rewritten to address a new group of participants, allowing researchers to both adapt their work to meet current needs as well as to gather a large, comparable body of data. In this chapter, the authors discuss the vignette technique used in their methodology while conducting research related to the ethical use of AI in their ongoing research. Alongside an overview of the vignette technique itself, the chapter details the development of the technique for their research as well as the benefits and drawbacks that have become clear during the analysis of data gathered with the aim of providing a clear method of writing vignettes for assessing learner perceptions of AI tools.
About the Contributors
Joel Neff is a lecturer in Japan who teaches courses in academic writing, essay writing, communication, and English as a foreign language. He holds a master’s degree in Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester, UK. His research interests include language learner development, vignette methodology, and the ethical and pedagogical implications of artificial intelligence in education. His recent work has appeared in Technology in Language Teaching & Learning and the PanSIG Journal. He is currently involved in longitudinal studies examining Japanese university students' perceptions of AI ethics and in developing vignette-based approaches to classroom research.
Kasumi Arciaga is a full-time lecturer at Dokkyo University, Japan. She received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from De La Salle University in 2023. From 2023 to 2026, she served as an assistant professor at Utsunomiya University, where she launched the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) program to endorse intercultural communication. She received a Kakenhi Young researcher grant in 2026, focusing on multilingual children’s development of global Englishes and their linguistic identities. She is committed to advancing multilingual education and intercultural academic collaborations.
Citation
Neff, J., & Arciaga, K. (2026). Discussing the vignette technique for assessing student perceptions of ethical AI use in the L2 learning environment. In R. Dykes, O. Edwards, D. Bollen, & T. S. W. Lin (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in Japan’s language learning classrooms (pp. 171–195). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/45/7
Continual re-evaluation of student needs is critical to any curriculum. As AI tools evolve and propagate throughout learning environments, the need to assess student perceptions of AI use can become an annual undertaking on the part of teachers and curriculum designers. The vignette technique assesses participants' perceptions by asking them to engage with a hypothetical scenario and by then gauging their responses. Effective vignettes are relatable, e.g., the participants can see themselves in the scenario, and plausible. They should also provoke an emotional response from the participants. For the researcher, vignettes are an adjustable and repeatable methodology. Thus, as AI tools and learner populations change over time, vignettes written to assess a given set of learners' perceptions can be quickly rewritten to address a new group of participants, allowing researchers to both adapt their work to meet current needs as well as to gather a large, comparable body of data. In this chapter, the authors discuss the vignette technique used in their methodology while conducting research related to the ethical use of AI in their ongoing research. Alongside an overview of the vignette technique itself, the chapter details the development of the technique for their research as well as the benefits and drawbacks that have become clear during the analysis of data gathered with the aim of providing a clear method of writing vignettes for assessing learner perceptions of AI tools.
About the Contributors
Joel Neff is a lecturer in Japan who teaches courses in academic writing, essay writing, communication, and English as a foreign language. He holds a master’s degree in Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester, UK. His research interests include language learner development, vignette methodology, and the ethical and pedagogical implications of artificial intelligence in education. His recent work has appeared in Technology in Language Teaching & Learning and the PanSIG Journal. He is currently involved in longitudinal studies examining Japanese university students' perceptions of AI ethics and in developing vignette-based approaches to classroom research.
Kasumi Arciaga is a full-time lecturer at Dokkyo University, Japan. She received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from De La Salle University in 2023. From 2023 to 2026, she served as an assistant professor at Utsunomiya University, where she launched the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) program to endorse intercultural communication. She received a Kakenhi Young researcher grant in 2026, focusing on multilingual children’s development of global Englishes and their linguistic identities. She is committed to advancing multilingual education and intercultural academic collaborations.
Citation
Neff, J., & Arciaga, K. (2026). Discussing the vignette technique for assessing student perceptions of ethical AI use in the L2 learning environment. In R. Dykes, O. Edwards, D. Bollen, & T. S. W. Lin (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in Japan’s language learning classrooms (pp. 171–195). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/45/7
Information About the Book
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Title: Artificial Intelligence in Japan’s Language Learning Classroom
Editors: Robert Dykes, Oliver Edwards, Dave Bollen, and Tina Shu-wen Lin Publication date: June 2026 Read more... |