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AI Research Assistant for ESL Students

Yuna is an international student from South Korea writing her first English academic research paper on urban housing policy. She can find sources in Korean easily, but her assignment requires English sources and MLA citation. The AI Research Assistant gives her a research plan that accommodates both English and Korean sources, generates MLA citation templates for non-English sources, and flags potential language register issues in her thesis statement before she commits to a direction.

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L1 sources

Non-English source citation support

Scaffolded

Sentence starters for each section

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Academic tone check for ESL writers

How English language learners Use It

Real research workflows, not generic examples.

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 AI generates MLA, APA, and Chicago citation templates 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. The AI generates 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.

Research plan language: simplified instructions with sentence starters

For ESL students at intermediate English proficiency, the AI generates the research plan with simplified language and sentence starters for 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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ESL Students Research, Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from English language learners about using the AI Research Assistant.

Yes, and the AI helps them 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.

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