Speaker
Description
This talk explores the potential of using generative AI for language education, emphasizing the evolving roles and responsibilities of language teachers. It encompasses several key areas of research. The initial focus is on developing strategies for prompt engineering that facilitate the creation of language teaching and learning materials. I will showcase various prompts for content generation that align with individual learners’ needs, interests, and proficiency levels. Second, the pedagogical efficacy of AI-driven language pedagogy will be investigated. This involves understanding the teacher’s evolving role and how language teachers can best utilize AI as a co-teaching tool. I will discuss the importance of harnessing teachers’ prompt writing skills and AI literacy. I will also share practical use case scenarios of generative AI based on my own teaching experiences. Last, I will address some critical issues that arise from the use of generative AI for language instruction. I will raise questions such as: What is the role of language teachers in the age of AI? How should the language curriculum be adapted to incorporate generative AI? What are the ethical and pedagogical implications of using generative AI for language learning? I will provide anecdotal answers to such questions. I conclude my talk by arguing that we need to cultivate “perspective shifts” that enable generative AI to optimize our future language education. The imperative now is not to resist but to adapt.
Dr. Takako Aikawa (Boston, USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Global Languages, Senior Lecturer in Japanese)
Before joining MIT’s Global Languages in 2013, Takako Aikawa honed her expertise in machine translation and natural language processing at Microsoft Research. At MIT, she is responsible for directing the Japanese language program while utilizing technology for language learning.
