Louise Ohashi

Navigating Challenges and Embracing Innovations in the AI Era (90 minute workshop)

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a greater impact on language education year by year, and this trend will continue whether teachers are ready for it or not. Machine translation is becoming more accurate and the latest game changer, ChatGPT, produces complex text that follows human commands at a speed nobody can rival. Widespread accessibility of such tools has created both concern and excitement in the teaching community. This session looks at the impact of AI on language education from multiple perspectives. Firstly, potential problems it can cause will be identified and possible strategies for overcoming them will be offered. Next, affordances that AI can offer will be explored. There will be a lecture followed by a workshop, so please bring a digital device if you would like to try some of the online activities that will be introduced.

Dr. Louise Ohashi is an associate professor at Gakushuin University who specializes in second language acquisition and language education. Her doctoral work and much of her other research examines learner autonomy, motivation, and the use of digital technologies for language learning. Along with her passion for teaching and research, she is an avid language learner who speaks Japanese, Italian and French in addition to her first language, English. She has started her journey with Spanish and German too. Follow her on Twitter @OhashiLou for updates on her work.

Note: Wifi will be unavailable onsite, but online tasks can be done on a smartphone or a tethered device.