The Technical English curriculum is constantly underrepresented in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programs (Hyland, 2006). This study investigates using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to develop a backward design curriculum for Technical English in preparatory year programs, targeting the CEFR A2-B1 level. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, using 58 students and seven teachers as participants at a local university. The findings demonstrated a notable enhancement in student learning outcomes through implementing an AI-enhanced curriculum, as seen by considerably higher engagement scores in the experimental group. The thematic analysis revealed themes related to enhanced educational effectiveness, individualized learning, and the difficulties encountered during implementation. The research suggests that instructors should undergo professional development, investment in digital infrastructure, and collaborative curriculum planning should be implemented. The study was done in Saudi Arabia, but its findings may be used in transnational and cross-border contexts.

Multilingual households are rapidly expanding worldwide, yet most research still focuses on monolingual or bilingual families, leaving the dynamics of multilingual households underexplored. Guided by Coleman’s Family Capital Theory, this study investigates how multi-ethnic families in Canada, Pakistan, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia negotiate heritage language transmission alongside English acquisition. Using a cross-country ethnographic design, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, video reminiscences, and archival research were conducted with 40 families (Canada 12, Pakistan 10, Jordan 9, Saudi Arabia 9), including children aged 5–18. Sample sizes were tailored to cultural access and feasibility rather than equal national quotas. Findings reveal that storytelling, moral teaching, and religious rituals are central to preserving heritage languages, while English is prioritized for education and employment. Families experienced accent-related identity issues, reduced heritage language proficiency among younger members, and intergenerational communication gaps. Children’s incidental exposure to digital platforms (e.g., educational apps, YouTube, online religious classes) and the challenges of displacement among migrant families were observed but not systematically measured. The study underscores that English supports integration and mobility but risks weakening cultural and linguistic identity. It recommends that educators and policymakers design pluralist, culturally responsive strategies—such as embedding family-driven literacy practices into curricula and fostering additive bilingualism through community and school partnerships—to sustain heritage languages alongside English. The comparative ethnographic approach offers a replicable framework for future cross-cultural studies. Longitudinal research and systematic examination of digital technologies and displacement contexts are proposed as key directions to advance understanding of intergenerational language maintenance and identity resilience.

This critical integrative review examines structural and institutional constraints on paternal involvement in early childhood education (ECE), drawing on literature published between 2016 and 2026, identified through database, citation, and official-source searches, and on earlier foundational sources. Structural withdrawal is used as an analytical term for recurrent restrictions on, or uneven allocation of, fathers’ engagement, accessibility, and responsibility; it does not imply a measured decline over time. Ecological systems, social role, and work–family perspectives are used to interpret relationships among employment conditions, school practices, household care arrangements, and caregiving expectations. International findings are distinguished from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) evidence. The synthesis identifies five themes: working time and leave, the gendered division of care, cultural constructions of fatherhood, school communication practices, and Gulf household and residence arrangements. UAE workplace studies describe both organizational support and practical constraints, while Emirati shared-reading reports document educational engagement among participating fathers; together, these findings qualify assumptions of uniform flexibility, stigma, or disengagement. Paid domestic care is treated as one household configuration whose implications depend on task allocation and family resources. The resulting UAE-focused ecological framework proposes three pathways, through usable caregiving time, access to educational information, and the allocation of recurring responsibility, each conditioned by citizenship, residence, occupation, and household resources. Policy implications prioritize access to existing leave and workplace support and locally evaluated school measures. The evidence does not establish national prevalence or causal effects.