Activating students` cognitive engagement in technical English learning with AI tools

Abstract

The ongoing russian-Ukrainian war has posed unprecedented challenges to Ukraine’s education system, particularly in technical universities where the demand for English language competence remains high despite infrastructure disruptions, displacement, and psychological stress. In this context, the development of students’ critical thinking and cognitive engagement has become both a pedagogical necessity and a form of intellectual resilience. This chapter investigates the integration of Artificial Intelligence tools – specifically ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Quillionz – into technical English instruction as a means of fostering higher-order thinking skills. While global research highlights the potential of AI to enhance learning, most studies overlook war-affected environments and discipline-specific needs of technical learners. Through a theoretically grounded and practice-oriented analysis, this work demonstrates how AI tools can serve not as replacements for educators, but as cognitive scaffolds that support reflective writing, dialogic reasoning, and inquiry-based reading. The findings reveal that when used under guided conditions, these tools encourage metacognitive awareness, deepen conceptual understanding, and simulate professional communication tasks. However, the study also cautions against uncritical use, pointing to the risk of cognitive passivity and overreliance in the absence of pedagogical framing. Drawing analogies with Ukraine’s broader struggle for independence and agency, the chapter positions AI-assisted learning as a form of educational resistance – one that equips students with the intellectual tools to think independently and act purposefully. The chapter concludes by outlining key strategies for integrating AI into curricula responsibly and calls for further research on long-term impacts, especially in the post-war recovery phase.