Presenters: Dr. Kristin Terrill (Author 1) and Dr. Lily Compton (Presenter 1)

Abstract: The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, present an exciting and daunting array of affordances for computer assisted language learning (CALL). Yet there are also serious practical and ethical considerations related to the use of these applications in language learning. Advocacy for the use of advanced AI tools in language learning has identified its potential value for scaffolding advanced skills that language learners struggle with and automating basic skills that they have already mastered. On the other hand, there are serious concerns that the automation of cognitively demanding processes, such as composition, revision, and synthesis, could circumvent learners’ need to develop these abilities internally. Furthermore, educators must consider the potential negative impacts of learners’ overreliance on generative AI tools, including developing faulty and incomplete knowledge. In this presentation, I will present a matrix of considerations currently being raised about generative AI and learning. Because these technologies and their uses are emergent, the matrix will reflect discourse in current applied linguistics research as well as that occurring in social media, professional development workshops, and other informal platforms. Drawing on Hubbard (2006) and Chapelle (2017), I will examine how these considerations might be addressed in systematic evaluations of specific implementations of generative AI as a CALL resource. CALL evaluation studies informed by this multifaceted matrix will help language learners and teachers benefit from the positive affordances of generative AI while avoiding its pitfalls.

References

Chapelle, C. A. (2017). Evaluation of technology for language learning. In C. A. Chapelle & S. Sauro, (Eds.) Handbook of Technology for Second Language Learning and Teaching, (pp. 378-392). Blackwell-Wiley.

Hubbard, P. (2006). Evaluating CALL software. In L. Ducate and N. Arnold (Eds.) 2006. Calling on CALL: From Theory and Research to New Directions in Foreign Language Teaching, (pp. 313-338). CALICO.