Language Education and AI: What We Teach When We Stop Being Afraid
Dr. Gabriel Guillén
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California
Lecture: Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 4 pm in Hillman 60
Language Education and AI: What We Teach When We Stop Being Afraid
AI can already translate live speech and handle many everyday communication tasks, leaving many language educators wondering what is left for learners to do. This talk argues that fear is the wrong starting point. Drawing on longstanding research and practices in language education alongside current work on AI, I suggest that this moment invites a renewed focus on identity, intercultural understanding, storytelling, and public service. Rather than replacing language learning, AI pushes us to rethink what we want learners to gain and how we teach, centering play, embodiment, relationship building, and meaningful human and intercultural communication, with technology serving as support rather than substitute.
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*The Ginger Marcus Foreign Language Learning Speaker Series at Washington University in St. Louis is sponsored by the Department of Comparative Literature and Thought; the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures; the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies; the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.