THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Abstract

The ongoing digitalisation of the education sector has fundamentally transformed teaching and learning processes – not only in foreign language education. Owing to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), new perspectives for personalised, adaptive, and interactive learning have emerged. Consequently, a central task of didactics is to systematically explore the potential of AI in teaching and to convey its practical applications to educators. This paper analyses the role of modern AI-supported applications – particularly ChatGPT – in foreign language teaching and compares their didactic potential with that of traditional language learning programs. Through selected examples, it demonstrates how AI provides individualised learner support, generates complex feedback, and simulates authentic communicative situations. Particular attention is given to the comparison of feedback structures between conventional online exercise platforms and AI-based systems. While traditional programs are largely limited to statistical correctness checks, ChatGPT offers qualitative feedback that explains error sources and promotes adaptive learning strategies. An empirical study conducted among 380 students and 12 teachers in Slovakia reveals an overall positive attitude toward digital media in foreign language instruction. The majority of respondents, who expressed their views on AI in teaching through questionnaires and pedagogical interviews, consider its use motivating and helpful, particularly for understanding new content. Nevertheless, challenges remain in the areas of technical infrastructure, time resources, and media-pedagogical competence. The study concludes that AI represents a valuable instrument for the individualisation of teaching, but does not replace the teacher. A reflective and methodologically grounded integration of AI technologies can foster foreign language acquisition by making learning processes more differentiated, interactive, and practice-oriented.