Will AI stop students from learning a foreign language?
Language teachers can list numerous reasons for immersing oneself in a new language: for the pleasure of learning, the beauty of the language, to be able to express oneself fluently abroad... But will learners still be sufficiently motivated in 2025, now that AI tools seem to remove language barriers so easily?
Teacher trainer French and researcher Katrien Dewaele (UCLL Centre of Expertise for Education & Development) asked them herself. She discusses the most important insights and shares tips for teachers.
Why bother learning a new language?
A statue. That’s what foreign language teachers deserve. And I’m not saying that because I’m one myself. In any case, it is quite a tour de force to get students excited about the German cases or the French subjonctif. As if that weren’t enough, there is now the tsunami of generative AI, which adds to the challenge. If learners can create the illusion of language proficiency at the touch of a button, why should they even bother learning that language for real?
It is a question that breaks the heart of language teachers. Arguments about the beauty of language or the pleasure of smoothly ordering une baguette in French seem to appeal less and less to the average adolescent. High time to ask them about their own motivation.
“ If students can create the illusion of language proficiency at the touch of a button, why should they even bother learning a foreign language? ”
Students share their thoughts
I interacted with 80 students from A stream, B stream, transfer finality and double finality. I wanted to hear from them why they think learning a foreign language is important or not and what might motivate them in this era of AI. The results are not hard science, but a sample with the aim of uncovering some trends as food for thought.
AI as a popular helpline
A whopping 71% of students surveyed admit to using AI for French or English. Moreover, AI use increases with age: in first stage, 58% of students use AI, compared to a hefty 86% in third stage. These high numbers may not come as a surprise: youngsters are no longer secretly texting under the school desk but openly using AI. So, what are they doing?
- Translating words, phrases, and texts (54%)
- Writing or rewriting texts (50%)
- Getting homework and assignments done or asking for help in doing so (43%)
Interestingly, students seem to use AI mainly for what we could do before ChatGPT: translating and checking. Newer possibilities, such as using a chatbot as a personal speech coach, remain mostly unexplored.
Tips for teachers
Students are using AI in abundance, so ignoring it is not an option. However, they are grabbing the low-hanging fruit. This is a prime opportunity for teachers! Help students discover the full potential of AI.
Some examples:
- Show how a chatbot can help train speaking skills.
- Teach students to create their own practice tests to check how well they have mastered the subject matter.
- Discuss together what makes certain prompts so good.
Delegating versus learning
The question ‘What would you like AI to do for you?’ produces a fascinating picture. Students mainly want what they already do (e.g. translate), while at the same time they also want more explanation and support. Quotes such as ‘getting the learning explained at my pace’, ‘doing extra exercises on what I find difficult’ and ‘being my second teacher’ illustrate this.
Yet a clear dichotomy also emerges:
- Team Delegate (47%): these students want AI to take over tasks. Think of: writing texts, doing homework, and summarising.
- Team Learning (30%): This group wants to use AI as a tool. For example: to understand language better, practise, and get feedback.
But which students are in which group? That’s where it gets interesting. The choice seems to depend on age and field of study. First-stage students more often want to outsource tasks entirely to AI. The surveyed students from the B stream even chose this exclusively. For third-stage students, and certainly those from Modern Languages, the picture is reversed: they prefer to see AI as a study partner.
Tips for teachers
This difference suggests that we should approach AI differently with novice learners than with expert learners:
- Novice learners are still building knowledge base. They are more likely to be tempted to outsource thinking to AI as well: the path of least resistance.
- Expert learners already have a knowledge base, and perhaps more metacognitive and critical skills. They see the potential of AI as a learning partner.
Differentiation is key!
“ Some students want AI to take over tasks, others use these tools as an aid. This dichotomy seems to depend on age and field of study. ”
What does AI do to motivation?
And then, the million-dollar question. Does AI motivate or demotivate learners to learn a foreign language? The answer is... complex.
For most learners (60%), nothing really changes: they are no more or less motivated than before. For the remaining group, a clear divide does emerge: 18% feel more motivated by AI, and 23% less so.
- How does AI motivate? The main reasons mentioned in the survey are the help and clear explanations that AI can provide (35%). Gamification (e.g. game elements like in Duolingo) also gives a boost.
- How does AI demotivate? Here we hear the familiar killer phrase: ‘Why learn something yourself that AI can already do?’ This ‘substitution effect’, where AI threatens to replace learning, is the biggest demotivating factor (44%).
Again, the B stream stands out with a strong polarity: an equal number of students feel motivated and demotivated by AI.
Tips for teachers
Education is at a tipping point. A lot of students seem a bit hesitant now – perhaps because they are not yet aware of the full potential of AI. This presents teachers with a unique opportunity!
- Build a powerful, hybrid learning environment.
- Deploy AI as a lever for motivation, and not as a drop-out excuse.
Food for thought
This exploratory sample suggests that AI works best as a supporter, not a substitute for learning. But how do you convince students of that? That is a challenge that is not getting any smaller. Not all students are intrinsically motivated and want to ‘learn to learn’. And with new technologies such as Google’s smart glasses with built-in translation functions, the need to know a language purely for communication purposes also seems to be disappearing.
Therefore, the key to motivating students is open conversation. Ask students about their AI use and their motivation. Together, draw the line between AI as a useful tool versus as an addictive crutch that leads to cognitive laziness.
And for teachers who would ever doubt their own impact in this era of AI, remember this. One student who was asked what he would miss if there were no more French or English classes replied simply and powerfully: ‘the teachers’. Ultimately, teachers make the difference. No AI can beat us!
Sources
- Craig, L. (2025, 21 mei). How Harvard is approaching AI in the classroom. TechTarget.
- Dewaele, K. (2023). Artificiële intelligentie: you name it, AI does it! Betekent AI het einde van het (vreemde)taalonderwijs? OnderWijsTijd, 4(1).
- Dewaele, K. (2025). AI in het Vlaams vreemdetaalonderwijs. Leerlingen aan het woord in een verkennende bevraging. Education & Development, UCLL, Belgium.
- Hamilton, A., Wiliam, D., & Hattie, J. (2023). The future of AI in education: 13 things we can do to minimize the damage (Working Paper).
Read and learn more on this topic
Language masters & language techies: a digital romance?
The new language models with AI (ChatGPT, large-language models or LLMs and GenAI) are turning education on its head. In foreign language teaching, the possibilities are truly endless! Katrien Dewaele, teacher educator and researcher at UCLL, explores the impact of AI on the future of foreign language teaching and shares insights following the online survey 'The use of artificial intelligence among foreign language teachers'.
Katrien Dewaele
Katrien Dewaele is a lecturer in French (language and didactics) at the Faculty of Teacher Education of UCLL. She is also a researcher at Education & Development of UCLL. Her research focuses on how to promote and facilitate learning processes in an evidence-informed way and enhanced by technology. In her teaching practice and research work, she bridges the gap between insights from educational research and classroom practice. Katrien is an expert within the field of foreign language didactics and has already shared this expertise in several publications, at (inter)national conferences, and in teacher training programs with Teacher Design Teams.
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