THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, English Language Teaching, Personalized Learning, Generative AI, Educational Technology, Teacher Digital Competence.Abstract
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education is reshaping English Language Teaching (ELT) by expanding opportunities for personalized instruction, immediate feedback, adaptive practice, and learner autonomy. This paper examines the principal benefits, limitations, and future directions of AI-assisted ELT through a qualitative narrative review of selected peer-reviewed studies and international policy guidance. Particular attention is given to conversational chatbots, automated writing evaluation, speech-recognition tools, and generative AI applications. The reviewed literature indicates that these technologies can support differentiated learning, provide additional speaking and writing practice, and reduce some forms of language-learning anxiety when used within clearly designed pedagogical tasks. At the same time, unequal access to devices and connectivity, unreliable AI-generated content, data-privacy risks, academic-integrity concerns, and insufficient teacher preparation may limit their educational value. The paper argues that AI should not replace teachers but should operate as a supervised instructional resource within a human-in-the-loop model. For Uzbekistan, the most appropriate strategy is a gradual and equitable integration of AI literacy, teacher professional development, low-bandwidth solutions, transparent assessment rules, and continuous human oversight.
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