Addressing the challenges of generative AI in English language teaching

Abstract

Issues such as plagiarism, copyright infringement, unethical uses of computer programs and multimedia resources, as well as the unreasonable use of resources for educational purposes are becoming ever more complicated with the exponential development of generative artificial intelligence (gAI) tools. Do gAI tools violate academic integrity? Will they encourage scientific fraud? How could gAI be used to personalize and differentiate language learning acquisition? Will educators stop assigning reflective essays? Do we need AI literacy? The main purpose of this paper is to explore some of these questions, with an emphasis on teaching English as a second language in higher education.