AI Research Assistant for ESL Students
Yuna teaches international students from South Korea writing their first English academic research paper on urban housing policy. They can find sources in Korean easily, but the assignment requires English sources and MLA citation. The AI Research Assistant gives her a research plan that students can use with both English and Korean sources; she adds MLA citation models for non-English sources and reads thesis statements for language register before they commit to a direction.
This page fills in a draft from a template. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
How teachers of English language learners use it
Research workflows for your own class.
Citing non-English sources in English-medium academic writing
ESL students often have access to excellent sources in their first language that are directly relevant to their research topic. The form has no citation templates; you can show MLA, APA, and Chicago formats for non-English sources, including the required translation of the title in brackets, the original-language title, and the country of publication. Students do not have to abandon their strongest sources because they are not in English.
Language support: academic vocabulary for research topics
ESL students writing about technical or policy topics may know the concept in their first language but not the English academic vocabulary for it. With Improve with AI on, your AI key can suggest an academic vocabulary list for the research topic, key terms, definitions in plain English, and example sentences showing how to use them in academic prose; you check it.
Research plan language: simplified instructions with sentence starters
For ESL students at intermediate English proficiency, choose English language learners as the level and add simplified language and sentence starters to each note-taking section. These scaffolded prompts help students engage with sources in English without getting stuck on how to begin.
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What this page does here
This page builds a draft from a template on this device. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
Questions teachers ask
Can ESL students use sources in their first language?
Yes, and you can show them how to cite those sources correctly in English academic citation formats. For MLA, non-English sources require the title in the original language followed by a bracketed English translation, the author name in Western format, and the country of original publication.
Does the tool help with academic register for ESL writers?
Yes. The form has no thesis reviewer; when you read a thesis, you can check not just arguability and specificity but also whether it is written in appropriate academic register. Common ESL register issues include overly direct first-person claims, informal vocabulary, and sentence structures that are grammatically correct in the first language but unusual in English academic prose.
Can the tool generate search terms for non-English databases?
The sheet has slots for search terms in any language, and the form does not connect to any database. For topics where the relevant literature is primarily in another language, with Improve with AI on, an AI may suggest translated search terms for major databases including CNKI, CiNii, Redalyc, and Persee, which you try and check.
How does the note-taking organizer support ESL learners?
You can adapt the notes guide for ESL learners by adding a place for key quotes in the original language alongside the English translation or paraphrase. This lets students record the original text from a non-English source alongside their English summary so they can verify accuracy.
Is the tool available in other languages?
Today this page is in English, and the research plan comes out in English. For another language, translate the draft yourself, or use Copy prompt and ask an AI chat, then check the result.
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