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Technology and the future of language teaching

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Greg Kessler at Ohio University
Greg Kessler
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Abstract

We are living in a time with unprecedented opportunities to communicate with others in authentic and compelling linguistically and culturally contextualized domains. In fact, language teachers today are faced with so many fascinating options for using technology to enhance language learning that it can be overwhelming. Even for those who are inclined to experiment with emerging technologies, it can be challenging to identify which resources, tools, or Web sites may best fit a particular lesson, activity, or goal. Many of the most compelling opportunities are situated within the same global social and technology trends that have become commonplace in our daily lives, including social media, artificial intelligence, big data, and augmented reality. This article addresses the extent to which technology-mediated social interactions dominate our daily lives, how we can leverage those interactions to the benefit of our learners, and how we can engage them in learning experiences in ways that will encourage them to practice language extensively.
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... Language teachers and researchers are constantly trying to improve the effectiveness of English language teaching and learning through the use of technology (Kessler, 2018). According to the literature, numerous works have examined the perceptions regarding the use of AI in language teaching and learning among educators, teachers and learners (Pokrivcakova, 2019;Kim et al., 2022). ...
... Settles and Meeder (2016) adopted machine learning for second language acquisition by using an online language learning application and found that student engagement improved by 12%. Kessler (2018) further illustrated the various technologies, tools, and resources available to language teachers in this era, as well as the challenges they face and the methods of using various technological mediums to promote student engagement in learning. To ascertain whether AI improves the efficiency of teaching and learning, Ruan et al. (2019) conducted an empirical study on 76 students, comparing the effects of flashcards and QuizBot on students' learning of factual knowledge and English vocabulary. ...
... Fryer et al. (2020) conducted a review to analyze the current development of applying chatbots in language teaching and suggested strategies for researchers and educators to enhance the development of chatbots in language education. The study conducted by Huang et al. (2022) and Kessler (2018) have been cited as representative research work, indicating their noticeable contribution to the research field. ...
A bibliometric analysis of artificial intelligence in language teaching and learning (1990–2023): evolution, trends and future directions
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
  • Educ Inform Tech
The advancement and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has introduced innovative changes in language learning and teaching. In particular, the widespread utilization of various chatbots as foreign language learning partners showcases their remarkable potential contribution to the field. Nevertheless, there are currently few studies that encompass extensive and holistic reviews and analyses of the relevant literature during this period. The study employs bibliometric analysis and a systematic review of representative research to present trends, the current status and future directions of AI research in language teaching and learning, providing language educators, policymakers, and research scholars with visually accessible and comprehensive insights. Results indicate that the field is in its early stages of development, growing rapidly with significant research potential. The study identified the most productive and influential sources, institutions, authors and countries and provided a summary for the most representative papers in the research field. Through keyword analysis, the study delineates the evolutionary progression of AI in the domain of language teaching and learning across different time periods, identifies prevailing research trends and proposes future research directions. Results indicate that influential research in this realm predominantly focuses on refining technological solutions and conducting empirical studies on AI applications in language teaching and learning. This highlights significant interest in the effectiveness of AI in language education and its implementation methods. However, research on the application of AI in language education is still in its infancy. Therefore, the study advocates for increased empirical research on AI’s specific applications in language listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as the development of more effective pedagogical approaches. Furthermore, the findings reveal a lack of attention given to various concerns and challenges associated with AI utilization in language teaching and learning, such as concerns regarding academic integrity, content authenticity, potential bias, privacy and security issues, and environmental concerns. At present, there is a lack of suitable solutions or regulatory frameworks proposed to address these concerns adequately.
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... College English teachers can now utilize digital technology to teach whenever and wherever they choose. It could present language learners with access to native speakers and engage them in meaningful and authentic contexts which help to cultivate their ability to communicate, collaborate with others and solve the realistic problems of life (Kessler, 2018). Language Digital literacy, practices, and transformative implications in teaching English as a second language International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning 3 learners are more active in learning when they feel connected to the real world. ...
... al., 2023). Digital tools offered unique opportunities to engage students actively and promote learner autonomy, allowing them to take control of their learning process by making decisions about how to solve problems, where to find information, and how best to present it (Kessler, 2018). Navigating digital content requires critical thinking to evaluate the reliability of information and solve problems creatively, skills that are essential in the digital age. ...
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... Every nation has a language that is understood by its citizens but not by outsiders, called its national tongue. Kessler (2018) asserts that language serves as a social control mechanism that regulates communication to prevent misunderstandings by enabling participants to understand one another. English was selected as an international language because of its primary function as a communication tool, which facilitates communication between people in different nations. ...
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Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
Thus, this research aims to analyze the need for developing digital-based English learning media for deaf children. This qualitative research involved students and teachers at SLB-B Karya Ibu Palembang. A needs analysis was carried out to identify the sustainable situation of deaf children for the development of digital learning media for English lessons. Interview and observation techniques using two types of instruments in the form of interview guides, observation, and field notes were used to collect information about the English language learning needs of deaf students. Research findings identified several needs that underlie the development of digital learning materials for English lessons, namely inadequate English teachers, text-based teaching materials, and less than optimal teaching and learning processes because they are still textbook-based, while deaf students are visual learners. Therefore, the development of digital learning media is very necessary. One of the digital learning media that can be developed is E-books. By using e-books containing media such as pictures, animations, and videos, learning becomes more fun and easier for teachers and deaf students in teaching and learning English.
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... Portrait Animation is a task to animate the motion and facial expressions from a driving video to a target portrait while preserving the identity and background of the target portrait, which has many potential applications such as digital avatars [32,48], AI-based human conversations [2,24,25], etc. Beginning with the advent of GANs [13] and NeRF [33], numerous studies have delved into the fields of portrait animation [3,5,7,12,17,21,26,33]. However, these generated methods often produce unrealistic and distorted faces, accompanied by artifacts such as blurring and flickering. ...
MegActor: Harness the Power of Raw Video for Vivid Portrait Animation
Preprint
  • May 2024
Despite raw driving videos contain richer information on facial expressions than intermediate representations such as landmarks in the field of portrait animation, they are seldom the subject of research. This is due to two challenges inherent in portrait animation driven with raw videos: 1) significant identity leakage; 2) Irrelevant background and facial details such as wrinkles degrade performance. To harnesses the power of the raw videos for vivid portrait animation, we proposed a pioneering conditional diffusion model named as MegActor. First, we introduced a synthetic data generation framework for creating videos with consistent motion and expressions but inconsistent IDs to mitigate the issue of ID leakage. Second, we segmented the foreground and background of the reference image and employed CLIP to encode the background details. This encoded information is then integrated into the network via a text embedding module, thereby ensuring the stability of the background. Finally, we further style transfer the appearance of the reference image to the driving video to eliminate the influence of facial details in the driving videos. Our final model was trained solely on public datasets, achieving results comparable to commercial models. We hope this will help the open-source community.The code is available at https://github.com/megvii-research/MegFaceAnimate.
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... This situation means that exposure to automated editing has a significant educational impact on developing writing-related competencies. Kessler (2018) concluded that AWE raises students' self-awareness and linguistic cognition levels. Those who wish to utilize the software for automated editing research and education might benefit from the feedback provided by respondents to the questionnaire and the retrospective note question. ...
Identifying Grammarly Automated Writing Evaluation and Self-Editing by Administrative Officer
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2024
Automated writing evaluation (AWE) tools have been extensively used in foreign language writing classrooms, and their use has been progressively expanding recently. The study investigates an overview of Grammarly’s Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE). The research employed a quasi-experimental, comparative design with convenience sampling to assess the effects of Grammarly on the automated writing evaluation and self-editing of 56 administrative officers. The findings demonstrate that Grammarly’s AWE editing groups produced many better-written outputs. Grammarly’s AWE editing and self-editing experimental groups outperformed the control groups that did not engage in Grammarly’s AWE software. The level and complexity of the impact articles written by experimental groups are much more significant. The comparison was made between automated and non-automated editing. It demonstrates the existence of a considerable advantage for AWE editing. There were statistically significant changes in favor of the post-test between the pretest and post-test mean scores for both groups. These outcomes may be clarified with the software’s contribution. There is no difference between the experimental groups that are statistically significant. This result corresponds with whether there is a substantial difference in the effects on the writings of Grammarly’s AWE and self-editing experimental groups.
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Technology in Language Teaching: Mixed‐Methods Research
Chapter
  • Jun 2024
Currently, using technology for teaching is a challenge for language teachers, as seen in various studies on why and how teachers have approached the incorporation of technology into their instruction and the best practices. This entry offers an overview of the advantages of applying a mixed‐methods research design to explore how language teachers have adapted to the current, rapid technological advances. The study described in this entry used the quantitative method of a survey and qualitative technique of interviews. The survey data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the interview responses using a thematic analysis. Finally, the two data analyses and results were combined and converged for comparison and corroboration and thus obtained a comprehensive understanding of the integration of technology into language teachers' instructive practices in northern Taiwan.
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Gamification-cum-motivational Strategies in English Language Learning
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
Over the past two decades, the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) has witnessed growing studies hinged on the role of gamification in language learning and teaching. In this context, I argue, little still is known about the symbiotic relationship between gamification and motivational strategies in English language learning/teaching in contexts such as Saudi Arabia. To address this critical research gap, building on the current debates on gamification in English language education and through what I term gamification-cum-motivational strategies in English language education, this paper explores how gamification could develop different motivational strategies among Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. I use a commonly played game among Saudi teenagers dubbed “Call of Duty” as a case example to explore how such gamification could enhance different motivational strategies among them. I close the paper with some pedagogical implications and concluding remakes.
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A Comprehensive Review of Trustworthy, Ethical, and Explainable Computer Vision Advancements in Online Social Media
Chapter
  • Feb 2024
Responsible, ethical, and trustworthy decision-making powered by the new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) recently emerged as one of the key societal challenges. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art methods that emerged very recently in the domain of trustworthiness, fairness, and authenticity of online social media. Furthermore, this chapter discusses open problems, provides examples of other application domains in the realm of computer vision and intelligent computing, recommends bias mitigation strategies, and provides insights on the future developments in this key research domain.
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The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Education
Article
  • Mar 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping the landscape of many sectors at an unprecedented pace. This shift features the integration of intelligent machines, capable of learning, reasoning, and problem-solving, into diverse domains. The concept of AI encompasses a range of technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, collectively contributing to its increasing prevalence. The integration of artificial intelligence into education heralds a transformative era, redefining traditional teaching paradigms and learning experiences. AI's potential impact on education is multifaceted, encompassing personalized learning, intelligent tutoring systems, and data-driven insights. As AI technologies evolve, educators and learners alike are poised to benefit from adaptive and responsive educational environments. The intersection of AI and education holds the promise of fostering a dynamic, technology-infused learning landscape for the generations to come.
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USAGE OF DIGITAL SERVICES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING BY STUDENTS MAJORING IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Article
  • May 2024
The purpose of the article: to consider aspects of the use of digital resources in the process of learning a foreign language by students of «Applied Linguistics» specialty. Research methods: analysis and generalization of pedagogical literature; theoretical generalization. The objective processes of the formation of Ukrainian society determine the search for effective ways to improve the quality of the educational process. In addition to professional competencies, which include a certain set of abilities and skills, a modern specialist by the state educational standards is to master one of the foreign languages and properly apply it in professional activities. The level of students` mastery of a foreign language directly depends on effective teaching methods and the use of information technologies. The use of information and digital technologies increases students` interest in learning and contributes to the growth of their motivation to learn a foreign language. We consider various aspects of the use of digital resources, such as mobile applications, virtual platforms, and online resources, as well as evaluate their impact on learning and the development of students' communication skills. The analysis is focused on revealing the advantages and possible challenges that accompany the use of digital tools in the study of foreign languages in this specialty. We explore how these tools can support and facilitate learning, looking in particular at their potential for interactive learning, self-directed learning, and student engagement. At the same time, we analyze possible challenges, such as the availability of technology, the need to train educators, and possible limitations associated with the use of digital tools in the educational process.
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Training teachers in data-driven learning: Tackling the challenge
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2017
  • LANG LEARN TECHNOL
The aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of a semester-long pre-service teacher-training course on the use of corpora in language learning and teaching. This is achieved by an analysis of 53 corpus-based projects prepared by the participants. First, the aims and the design of the course are briefly presented. The main section of the paper examines the trainees’ projects, which involved compiling small ESP corpora, analysing them and preparing corpus-based lessons. Specifically, the topics of the projects, the corpora that the participants built, the types of the analyses conducted and finally the corpus-informed and corpus-based activities created by the trainees are examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. The projects’ outcomes reveal that the competencies developed by the pre-service teachers during the course are not sufficient. The participants seem to have mastered only the basic technical skills of manipulating corpora, and they lack autonomy in corpus-linguistic skills and pedagogical skills which are necessary for successful exploitations of corpora in language education. This observation – supported by earlier research – calls for the development and empirical validation of a model of effective teacher training in corpus-informed and corpus-based instruction.
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Language Teacher Education and Technology
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jun 2017
As technology has become more established in language teaching, a need for appropriate language-teacher education has become apparent. There have been attempts to provide teacher preparation for the use of technology for the past few decades. These have been conducted across a variety of formats. This chapter provides a historical overview of these developments with a focus upon research into the implementation and evaluation of these various approaches. We also present an overview of the content these approaches often incorporate, including preparing teachers to utilize established technology based resources and practices as well as a variety of evolving and emerging social and communication technologies that offer great promise for language teaching. The chapter concludes with a discussion of current and future challenges facing computer-assisted language learning (CALL) teacher preparation.
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Teaching Google search techniques in an L2 academic writing context
Article
  • Jan 2017
This mixed-method study examines the effectiveness of teaching Google search techniques (GSTs) to Korean EFL college students in an intermediate-level academic English writing course. 18 students participated in a 4-day GST workshop consisting of an overview session of the web as corpus and Google as a concordancer, and three training sessions targeting the use of quotation marks ("") and a wildcard (*). Each session contained a pre-test, a 30-minute training, and a post-test, and each training session focused on one of the three key writing points: articles, collocations, and paraphrasing. Two questionnaires for demographic information and GST learning experiences were conducted. The results showed a statistically significant effect for the overall gain score. In particular, participants' use of articles greatly improved after the training-in contrast to their use of collocations and paraphrasing. Lack of grammar and vocabulary knowledge seemed to hinder their data-driven learning, especially for collocation use and paraphrasing. The questionnaire data showed that all students found the GSTs beneficial, mostly because they were easy to use for confirmation and correction. Overall, both quantitative and qualitative data suggest that teachers' meticulous guidance and vigilant individualized feedback are necessary to facilitate L2 self-directed Google-informed writing.
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Enhancing extensive reading with data-driven learning
Article
  • Jan 2017
This paper investigates using data-driven learning (DDL) as a means of stimulating greater lexicogrammatical knowledge and reading speed among lower proficiency learners in an extensive reading program. For 16 weekly 90-minute sessions, an experimental group (12 students) used DDL materials created from a corpus developed from the Oxford Bookworms Graded Readers, while a control group (10 students) had no DDL input. Both classes were required to read a minimum of 200,000 words during the course. An embedded-experiment design (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017) was adopted consisting of both qualitative and quantitative forms of investigation. Quantitative data from the Vocabulary Levels Test by Nation and Beglar (2007) and a C-test (Klein-Braley & Raatz, 1984) constructed from an upper-level Bookworms reader found statistically significant lexicogrammatical improvements for both groups, but greater improvement took place within the control group. Qualitative data derived from a repertory grid analysis of student constructs revealed several possible reasons for the experimental group's lack of engagement with DDL. The study concludes that careful attention to students' learning preferences and a softening of the DDL approach may ensure better results with lower proficiency learners.
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The effect of corpus-based instruction on pragmatic routines
Article
  • Jan 2017
This study compares the effect of using corpus-based materials and activities for the instruction of pragmatic routines under two conditions: implementing direct corpus searches by learners during classroom instruction and working with teacher-developed corpus-based materials. The outcome is compared to a repeated-test control group. Pragmatic routines used for agreement, disagreement, and clarification in academic English discussion are targeted. 54 students in seven intact communication classes participated. 43 students received instruction in four 50-minute lessons across two to three weeks. Input came from MICASE (Simpson, Briggs, Ovens, & Swales, 2002) with noticing and production activities. The corpus-materials group (N = 26) received corpus excerpts and the corpus-search group (N = 17) conducted equivalent searches. The pre- and post-tests were administered through a computer-delivered oral-production task that simulated group discussion and included 30 items: 10 agreement, 10 disagreement, and 10 clarification scenarios. The results showed that both corpus searches and the use of corpus excerpts led to a significant increase in the oral production of pragmatic routines. The corpus-materials group additionally showed an increase in the clarity of speech acts. The corpus-search group reported engagement in self-directed searches outside the classroom, captured by a post-test questionnaire.
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Using corpora to develop learners' collocational competence
Article
  • Jan 2017
This article investigates the role of direct corpus use in learners' collocational competence in academic writing. An experiment was conducted between two groups of Chinese postgraduates who had no previous knowledge of corpora. It was embedded in a regular 4-month linguistics course in the students' programmes, where a corpus-assisted method was used for the experimental group and a traditional, or rule-based, method was used for the control group. The English essays written by these two groups of learners from different time periods (before, immediately after, and two months after the course) were analysed regarding the learners' collocational use-in particular, verb-preposition collocations. The results reveal that while both groups showed improvements in their academic writing, the students in the experimental group displayed a significant improvement in the use of collocations, including a higher rate of accuracy, or naturalness, and an increased use of academic collocations and fixed phraseological items. It is thus concluded that the knowledge and use of corpora can help students raise their awareness of habitual collocational use and develop their collocational competence. This supports the positive role of direct corpus application in an EFL context.
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Student Teachers and CALL: Personal and pedagogical uses and beliefs
Article
  • Mar 2016
The student teaching semester affords teacher candidates the chance to apply what they have learned during their teacher preparation coursework. Therefore, it can be a prime opportunity for student teachers to use technology for their own language learning and to implement computer assisted language learning (CALL) in their instruction. This study explores United States K–12 foreign language (FL) student teachers’ use of and beliefs about CALL technologies. Four research questions guide this study: (a) How are FL student teachers using CALL for personal language learning (if at all)? (b) What do FL student teachers report they believe about their own personal language learning using CALL? (c) How are FL student teachers using CALL pedagogically (if at all)? (d) What do FL student teachers report they believe about their teacher preparation in CALL? Data from 71 respondents suggest FL student teachers do not feel well prepared to use CALL technologies pedagogically and that they have a limited repertoire of technology resources. Approximately 87.5% of these student teachers self-report their knowledge of CALL technologies as novice or intermediate. This article examines the virtues and shortcomings of FL student teachers’ preparation and use of CALL, offering suggestions for FL teacher education.
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Online fan practices and CALL
Article
  • Feb 2017
This article provides a narrative overview of research on online fan practices for language and literacy learning, use, and identity work. I begin with an introduction to online fan communities and common fan practices found in these online affinity spaces, the best known of which is fan fiction, fictional writing that reinterprets and remixes the events, characters, and settings found in popular media. I then look to other online fan practices that have been explored in language and literacy learning research such as fan-subbing and scanlation, amateur subtitling and translation of popular media carried out by individual or teams of fans. Finally, this article concludes by looking to research that has begun to explore the integration of fan practices found in the digital wilds into the language classroom as a way to illuminate how our growing understanding of online fan practices can motivate the design of computermediated tasks or the integration of social media into formal language teaching.
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