Spring 2026 Professional Development Series

Artificial Intelligence at the Crossroads of Teaching and Learning in Intermediate-to-Advanced Language Education

Bana Marine Dahi

Friday, February 6th, 10:00 AM

About the speaker: Bana Marine Dahi, visiting assistant professor of French, Romance Languages and Literatures Department, Pomona College

This presentation explores how artificial intelligence can be meaningfully integrated at the intersection of pedagogy and didactics in world language education, with particular attention to intermediate and advanced proficiency levels (CEFR B1–C1; ACTFL Intermediate High to Advanced). It opens with a brief overview of artificial intelligence in second language learning and situates AI within the didactics of world languages, highlighting the importance of task design, instructional sequencing, and human mediation in shaping learning experiences.

Drawing on ACTFL and CEFR descriptors, the session shows how AI can be used to support advanced communicative development, including discourse organization, grammatical accuracy, and pragmatic competence. Through concrete classroom examples and practical prompt templates, participants examine didactic approaches to using AI for writing, oral interaction, grammar-focused activities, and pragmatics, approaches that encourage reflection and learner autonomy rather than reliance on automated output. The presentation also introduces prompt engineering and prompt optimization as emerging didactic practices, discussing both their instructional value and their limitations. It concludes by outlining principles for responsible, human-centered AI integration that respect proficiency-based learning goals and reaffirm the central role of the teacher.

Dornsife Language Faculty Spotlight: Celebrating Our Year of Achievements

Friday, March 6th, 1:00 PM

Presenters: Atiyeh Showrai, Francesca Ricciardelli, Hsiao-Yun Liao

Meeting ID: 920 9110 1301
Password: 041553

Christiane Reves, PhD

Friday, April 3rd, 12:00 PM

About the speaker: Christiane Reves, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Language Program Director, Department of German, DAAD Ortslektor, New York University

Generative AI can now simulate fluent, responsive conversation in multiple languages, but effective language teaching does not begin with technology. It begins with learning outcomes, pedagogy, and an understanding of how learners develop communicative competence. This presentation explores how AI-mediated conversation is most powerful when instructors and not algorithms remain in the driver’s seat.

Drawing on classroom pilots, curriculum design across multiple proficiency levels, and ongoing research, this talk examines how AI conversation tools can be intentionally designed to support interpersonal communication, reduce barriers to speaking, and extend practice beyond the classroom. Rather than treating AI as a stand-alone tool or a replacement for instruction, the presentation focuses on task design, scaffolding, feedback, and alignment with proficiency frameworks.

Positioned at the intersection of language pedagogy, applied linguistics and educational technology, the talk moves beyond questions of “human in the loop” to propose a pedagogy-first model in which instructors define goals, structure interaction, and critically shape how and why AI can enhance both the instructor and learner experience.