Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Assisted Language Instruction: A Perspective

The article attempts to outline the major components of CALI-AI (computer-assisted language instruction incorporating artificial intelligence techniques). The article begins by discussing briefly the central assumption on which CALI-AI work is based, that is, that human cognitive abilities can be reproduced by mechanical means. It then proceeds to examine the following components of CALI-AI: (1) natural language processing, problem solving, (3) language learning, and (4) modeling teacher behavior. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which language teachers can participate in the development of the field.