Artificial Intelligence in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

Practice and focus on form play a crucial and decisive role in foreign language learning. But what would an intelligent, adaptive foreign language learning environment look like if all students could individually practice their language skills with exercises tailored to their individual skill levels, interests, and motivation? How could all learners be supported and challenged according to their abilities, so that they all have the opportunity to achieve specific learning goals in a self-directed manner? And how could digital media contribute to the kind of learning that adapts to the individual student's needs in heterogeneous foreign language classrooms? In the past years, digital technologies have become scientific and practical focal points in the English language teaching (ELT) world. Whether digital media are "friend or foe" (Grimm et al. 2015), technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) has been part of an international discourse, varying between "euphoric proposals," "pessimistic stances," and "opinions which stress that the risks of digital media need to be addressed" (2015, 210). Regardless of general TELL, research studies have shown that "technology can influence the processes and outcomes of education, and many countries are investing in technological support for teaching and learning" (Paiva and Bittencourt 2020, 448). The dynamic development of new technologies and the concomitant digital transformations result in significant challenges both for society as a whole and at all levels of the education system.