AI-powered pedagogy: foreign language study in higher education

The paper explores the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in foreign language study within the context of higher education. It discusses how AI has redefined traditional teaching methods by introducing innovative pedagogical tools. Through an in-depth analysis, the research illustrates the enhancement of communicative capabilities, where AI significantly improves the interaction dynamics in the target language among students. Presently, AI-driven language platforms enable personalized learning, catering to individual strengths and cultural backgrounds. However, concerns emerge about the potential erosion of traditional teaching roles in the face of AI's capabilities. Yet, for AI to enhance the learning process, educators must possess robust digital competencies to effectively leverage AI technologies. Furthermore, the utilization of AI enables the customization of learning experiences, adapting to individuals' needs, propensities, and skill levels, thus fostering motivation and commitment to language acquisition.

AI's capability to offer immediate and precise feedback is also highlighted as a critical factor in expediting the learning process and easing the anxiety related to performance evaluation. Moreover, the emergence of intelligent conversational assistants is showcased as a pivotal development in the domain. These AI-driven language bots act as virtual language partners, offering realistic conversation practice and proficiency evaluations that contribute to a supportive and boundless learning environment. While acknowledging the substantial benefits of AI in foreign language education, the paper concludes by reaffirming the irreplaceable role of human teachers as the central organizers of the educational process. It is implied that the successful integration of AI in language pedagogy rests upon its alignment with conventional teaching practices guided by experienced educators.

Стаття досліджує трансформаційну роль штучного інтелекту (ШІ) у вивченні іноземної мови в контексті вищої освіти. У статті досліджується переосмислення традиційних методів навчання в зв'язку з появою та використанням можливостей штучного інтелекту, та запровадження інноваційних педагогічних інструментів. За допомогою поглибленому аналізу дослідження демонструються комунікативні можливості, завдяки яким штучний інтелект значно покращує динаміку взаємодії на заняттях під час комунікації іноземною мовою. Наразі мовні платформи, створені на основі штучного інтелекту, дозволяють персоналізувати навчання, враховуючи індивідуальні сильні сторони та культурне походження.

Однак виникає занепокоєння щодо потенційного зникнення традиційної ролі педагога в разі широкого застосування штучного інтелекту у вищій освіті. Проте, щоб штучний інтелект покращив процес навчання, викладачі повинні володіти сучасними цифровими навичками та ефективно використовувати технології ШІ. Крім того, використання штучного інтелекту дозволяє персоналізувати навчальний досвід, пристосовуючи його до потреб, здібностей і навичок студентів, тим самим сприяючи мотивації оволодінню мовою. Здатність штучного інтелекту запропонувати миттєвий і точний зворотний зв'язок також є критичним фактором для прискорення процесу навчання та полегшення стресових ситуацій, пов'язаних із оцінюванням. Крім того, поява інтелектуальних мовних помічників є ключовим фактором розвитку освітньої галузі. Керовані штучним інтелектом мовні боти діють як віртуальні мовні партнери студентів, пропонуючи реалістичну практику розмови та оцінювання кваліфікації, що сприяє створенню сприятливого та безмежного навчального середовища. Визнаючи суттєві переваги штучного інтелекту в навчанні іноземним мовам, стаття завершується підтвердженням незамінної ролі викладачів як організаторів навчального процесу, стверджуючи, що успішна інтеграція штучного інтелекту в освітній процес, зокрема, в галузі вивчення іноземної мови, ґрунтується на його узгодженні з традиційними методами навчання під керівництвом досвідчених педагогів.

Introduction

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education has sparked a transformative shift in pedagogy, particularly in foreign language learning. Currently, neural networks and chatbots rapidly entered different areas of our lives, including education area. Every day are appearing more and more of different forms of artificial intelligence. Nowadays artificial intelligence tools can generate images, texts, cards, diagrams, presentations, mind maps, lesson plans, and other educational materials within a few seconds. Chatbots are able to carry on a conversation, answer questions, comment on the performed work, and also give recommendations on how it can be improved.

At the same time this has led to the situation when many teachers start to concern that as students can use AI to write essays and complete other assignments aimed at practicing language skills, there is no point in assigning homework. In addition, it is suggested that in the future, AI will be able to replace teachers. Analysing these trends, it is important to find the ways how a foreign language teacher can not only withstand the risks and threats of digitalization, but also make artificial intelligence an assistant and helper, and make the learning process more qualitative, effective and interesting using the possibilities given by artificial intelligence.

artificial intelligence learning language

Analysis of recent research and publications

Aim of research

The article is devoted to the study of the multifaceted role of artificial intelligence in enhancing language acquisition, analysing its impact on curriculum design, personalized learning, and linguistic proficiency assessment in the realm of higher education. Presently, numerous AI-driven language learning platforms enable learners to progress at their preferred speed, navigating language materials and pinpointing areas of difficulty. These platforms engage users in tasks aligning with their strengths, cater to individual interests, and consider diverse cultural backgrounds. Artificial intelligence, with its remarkable capabilities, has revolutionized educational paradigms, offering innovative tools and approaches to optimize foreign language learning. This article aims to dissect the nuanced applications of AI in language study, examining its potential to revolutionize teaching methodologies and empower learners in higher education settings.

Problem statement

The introduction of AI into the educational process is an inevitable consequence of the digitalization of education. The scientific and methodological literature depicts that as a result of such digitalization, many professions are being transformed, including the profession of a foreign language teacher.

Artificial intelligence is entering universities along with so-called assistive technologies, i.e. computer programs that allow us to convert text to speech and speech to text, zoom, predict text, translate, spell check and run search engines. Already, many platforms that foreign language teachers use in the educational process, like Miro, Canva, Notion, etc., install artificial intelligence assistants that, in one click, are able to generate the texts and assignments teachers need, images, diagrams, cards and other teaching materials. Foreign language courses already implement chatbots that answer questions from course participants, thereby reducing the time spent by teachers on routine actions [Kuo, 2020]; [Tobing et al., 2023]; [Huang et al., 2023]. Chat GPT, for instance, can check written work, point out errors and demonstrate how to correct them. This gives educators the opportunity to tap into the algorithms that power artificial intelligence and do their jobs even better. So, skilfully using AI, a teacher can make the learning process more efficient, and also transfer some of his/her functions to the computer, freeing up the time to perform more intellectual and creative tasks [Schmidt & Strassner, 2022]; [Zhai, 2023]; [Pham, 2022].

Results

Discussing the role of artificial intelligence in education, we aim to delve into its specific application in teaching foreign languages, harnessing the potential of neural networks. The benefits of artificial intelligence in language education are compelling.

In essence, the augmented communication facilitated by AI in foreign language learning transcends conventional methods, offering an immersive, dynamic, and inclusive learning environment that fosters effective language communication and cultural understanding [V. Gupta & Gupta,

Overall, the personalized learning facilitated by AI in higher education goes beyond standardized content delivery. It creates a dynamic learning environment where each student's unique characteristics, interests, and proficiency levels are considered and catered to, fostering a more engaging, effective, and rewarding learning experience.

By leveraging these motivational strategies, AI transforms language learning from a mere academic pursuit into an engaging, interactive, and rewarding journey. It creates an environment where students are motivated to persist in their language studies, thereby enhancing their linguistic proficiency and cultural understanding.

Let us move on to a review of artificial intelligence technologies that can be involved in the process of teaching a foreign language. First, let's look at programs designed directly for these purposes. These are, for example, the Duolingo and Babbel applications.

The educational platform Duolingo offers courses in more than 30 languages. Duolingo's BirdBrain AI tool learns each user's profile and makes predictions about their learning trajectory, providing a personalized learning experience. The system tracks tasks that cause difficulties for the course participant, and also remembers mistakes made in these tasks, on the basis of which it forms a further training plan. The platform's Explain My Answer feature allows language learners to chat with the Duo bot. The bot can rate and comment on the answer, as well as offer additional examples that will help the student better understand and master the material. Thanks to the Roleplay function, one can earn points for practicing in real situations of communication with virtual characters from different countries.

Currently, there are several quite effective online resources for editing texts in a foreign language using AI technologies. One such resource is Grammarly, which corrects over 150 types of errors, such as errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, writing style, and sentence structure. If there are errors, Grammarly provides recommendations for correcting them, offering various options. Working with this service allows students to analyse their texts, developing critical thinking skills, which can be useful to them in the future when writing coursework, master's theses, scientific articles, annotations and other written works.

Language bots, once rudimentary and ineffective, have evolved into intelligent conversational assistants that mimic interactions with educated individuals, displaying even a sense of humour. As chatbot capabilities advanced, they found application in foreign language learning. Students now engage in dialogues with these bots, filling the void in language practice often absent in real-world settings. AI-powered chatbots offer tailored responses, assessing language proficiency and offering guidance for improvement. Importantly, students feel at ease interacting with these bots, unafraid of errors, akin to conversing with a human teacher. Nowadays, a multitude of internet-utilized chatbots like A.L.I.C.E., Mitsuku, Splotchy, Cleverbot, among others, facilitate language communication. Engaging with such chatbots proves invaluable in surmounting language barriers and fostering limitless foreign language practice.

There are also AI tools that were not created for foreign language teaching, but can be used for this purpose. These tools include Chat GPT, which was already mentioned. Since one of the important features of Chat GPT is its ability for contextsensitive understanding and text generation, the platform takes into account previous messages and responds in a context-aware manner, creating natural and relevant communication situations. This feature of the Chat GPT allows teachers and students to interact with a virtual interlocutor while conducting dialogues, discussing various topics, asking and answering questions. With Chat GPT, students can get extra practice and support outside of the classroom, improve their reading, writing and speaking skills, expand their vocabulary, and improve their communication style. But nevertheless in the classroom, the key organizer of the educational process should still be the teacher.

In addition to programs that can be used for teaching a foreign language, there are also teaching assistants based on AI. The Twee is one of such assistants. This platform was developed specifically to facilitate the process of preparing tasks on various aspects of a foreign language like vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, speaking, and writing. With its help, a teacher can create texts and different types questions to them such as open- ended, with a choice of the correct answer, true/ false questions. In addition, the platform generates lexical and grammatical exercises for filling in gaps, matching words with definitions, opening parentheses, arranging words in the correct order, etc. Twee transcribes videos, formulates questions to these videos, finds interesting facts and quotes of famous people on a chosen topic, creates discussion questions, lists of advantages and disadvantages, lists of essay topics, and other tasks. The tasks generated by the platform must, however, be carefully checked. Not all of them are ready for use without proper correction. And, nevertheless, this system helps to significantly reduce the teacher's time for preparation to classes, and also stimulates the creative process, offering a large selection of ideas and tasks.

Simultaneously, examination of scholarly resources reveals the most significant drawbacks in integrating AI within university education:

Conclusion

The advent of Artificial Intelligence in the realm of foreign language learning within higher education institutions signifies a transformative shift in pedagogical practices. These AI-enhanced tools not only personalize the educational experience but also foster a more efficient learning environment, enabling students to progress at an individual pace. Through platforms like Duolingo and Grammarly, along with innovative AI assistants such as Twee, learners are equipped with real-time feedback, error correction, and tailored exercises that significantly improve language proficiency and motivation.

Moreover, this technological integration enables educators to transcend traditional teaching roles. By offloading administrative duties and routine grading tasks to AI systems, teachers can redirect their focus towards cultivating students' critical thinking abilities and interactive skills--elements that AI alone cannot nurture. Consequently, educators can enrich the learning experience, drawing upon their unique human capacities to guide, inspire, and provide nuanced feedback to learners.

Despite its remarkable potential, the incorporation of AI into language learning requires careful and ethical considerations. The emphasis must remain on a symbiotic relationship where AI complements the teacher's role without supplanting it. Acknowledging AI's limitations, such as its lack of empathy and nuanced understanding, is vital in designing pedagogical models that harness the strengths of both technology and human educators. Thereby, a balanced approach can truly capitalize on the advantages that AI presents, ensuring that it serves as a powerful ally in the evolution of foreign language education.

References