Enhancing EFL Vocabulary Acquisition Through Computational Thinking

The emergence of ChatGPT marks the advent of the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and language intelligence (LI). Moreover, the essence of AI and LI is a kind of deep machine learning based on computational thinking (CT). Computational thinking is rooted in computer science and is higher-order thinking that mimics how computers solve problems. At the same time, CT, a concept computer scientists propose, is also human thinking. Given factors such as the inconsistent definition of CT, the integration of CT into foreign language education in China has only just begun. In order to improve the vocabulary richness in English short essay writing of our non-English majors, we followed the critical skills of CT (data analysis, pattern recognition, abstraction, decomposition, and parallelization) to intervene in students’ English vocabulary acquisition. We measured their short essay writing before and after the intervention using Quantitative Index Text Analyser (QUITA) software. The results showed that all vocabulary-related quantitative indexes changed significantly and that CT could facilitate Chinese students’ English vocabulary acquisition efficiency. This study has implications for the new direction of foreign language education in China in the artificial and language intelligence era.