Event Details

All welcome to join 'The Future of Technology in Language Education' event. This event will launch the Language Education Technology Research Group.

Themed Discussion:

Theme 1: From tools to tutors: Current state and near-future potential of AI

We're moving beyond vocabulary apps. With the rise of generative AI and sophisticated chatbots, what does a "tutor-like" relationship with a machine look like for a language learner, what are its inherent limitations, and from a pedagogical standpoint, how can these "AI tutors" be designed to go beyond rote practice and foster critical thinking and authentic communication skills?

Theme 2: Teachers, classrooms, and changing roles: The impact on the profession and the classroom dynamic

There's often a fear that technology will replace teachers. In your view, what is the most productive way to redefine the role of the language teacher in a tech-rich environment? What new skills will they need? What challenges are there to integrating advanced technologies in educational settings?

Theme 3: Equity, access, and the digital divide: The broader social and ethical implications.

While technology can democratize access to high-quality resources, it can also exacerbate inequality. How do we ensure that the future of language education doesn't become a luxury good, widening the gap between well-resourced and under-resourced institutions? Can technology be a tool for preservation and access to less commonly taught/endangered languages or does it further marginalize them?

Theme 4: The Horizon: The longer-term future and its challenges

Let's end with a crystal ball question. What is one technological development on the horizon that you are most excited about, and one that you are most concerned about, for the future of language learning?

Panellists:

• Dr Kathy Chandler is a Lecturer in Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University who researches the experiences of students and educators. She is interested in the relationship between people and technology, the affordances of online spaces, how we build communities in those spaces and how we use technology to make high quality education more equitable and accessible.

• Dr KAN Qian graduated from Lancaster University with a PhD in Linguistics in 1992. She is now Senior Lecturer in Chinese in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, and Director of the Online Confucius Institute at The Open University. She is also Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (UK), and Bye-Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge. She supervises doctoral students in the field of language teaching and technology. Her research focuses on the use of technologies for the learning and teaching of languages: Virtual Exchange, online language teaching pedagogy, mobile and AI assisted language learning, interactions in online discussion forums. She co-edited the Special Issue: Technology-Enhanced Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language, for the Journal of the ChinaCALL (August 2023).

• Tim F Nash is a linguist, teacher and entrepreneur who has worked across continents with schools and universities, charities and government agencies, multinational companies and startups. Tim co-founded Wo Hui Mandarin, which turned a 90% drop-out rate from Chinese classes in international schools into an 87% retention rate, using digital innovations that have been patented in both the US and China.

• Professor Mark Schofield is Professor of Learning and Teaching and Dean of Teaching and Learning Development at Edge Hill University and leads on strategy and policy development in teaching, learning and associated research. He has contributed to teaching and curriculum design in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Education, Health, and Teaching and Learning in Clinical Practice. He provides external consultancy in learning and teaching, nationally and internationally, increasingly on technology enhanced learning which has been a prime focus of the visiting professorships at Leeds Beckett University, University of Northampton, Hunan First Normal University and Chongqing Normal University (China).

• Professor Patrick Rebuschat is Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at Lancaster University. He is Distinguished International Professor at the LEAD Graduate School, University of Tübingen, and Director of the Heritage Language 2 Consortium (HL2C), a strategic partnership that brings together six leading universities and the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He coordinates the NOVA Lancaster partnership on behalf of Lancaster University and the SLLAT Research Group within the Department of Linguistics and English Language. He also co-directs the Lancaster Language Learning Lab (4L).

Registration:

In-person and online registration available via the links below:

• In-person registration: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/FMFD
• Online registration: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/FMFA