Artificial Intelligence – AI in English language learning and teaching in the Australian context

Abstract

Australia hosts a substantial and diverse population of English language learners, encompassing school-aged students learning English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D), adult migrants engaged in settlement and workplace language programs, and international students enrolled in primary, secondary and tertiary education. This diversity in learner backgrounds, proficiency levels, learning goals and contexts, has positioned English language education as a significant but complex domain within the Australian education landscape. In recent years, this field has encountered profound challenges alongside new possibilities arising from the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GenAI). These technologies have begun to reshape our long-established pedagogical assumptions, instructional practices, assessment methods, and learner–teacher interactions.