AI in Language Education: The Impact of Machine Translation and ChatGPT

This chapter explores the impact of artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence (AI) (AI) within the field of language educationLanguage education. It focuses on two key areas: machine translationMachine translation (MT) and generative AIGenerative AI (GenAI) chatbot technology, the latter exemplified through ChatGPTChat generative pre-trained transformer (ChatGPT). The author positions these tools as real-world resources that teachers and institutions cannot and should not ignore. It introduces them in turn, explaining how they have evolved over time and providing a brief overview of their inner workings and capabilities. Next, empirical studies are reviewed, revealing the key strengths and weakness of these tools and casting light on teacher and student perspectives. Issues such as learning gains, perceived/actual accuracy of output, and plagiarism (or AI-based plagiarism, ‘AIgiarism’) are covered. In addition to learning-based considerations, issues such as online safety and privacy are discussed. Finally, the need for training and guidelines for teachers and students is addressed and practical activities designed to enhance language development and help with guideline formation are offered for consideration.