Application of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Progress, Challenges, and Trends

Abstract

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, its application in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) is becoming increasingly widespread, profoundly affecting teaching models and learning experiences. This paper reviews AI application progress, challenges, and future trends in EFL instruction. It points out that AI technology supports effective EFL instruction through personalized teaching, automated assessment and feedback, active and interactive experiences, data-driven learning analytics, intelligent agents/virtual assistants, and humanoid robots. However, challenges such as technological limitations, gaps in AI acceptance and application capabilities, privacy protection and ethical issues, and unequal distribution of EFL instructional resources have also emerged. These challenges require active responses from educational administrative departments, schools, and EFL educators. In the future, the development of AI+EFL education will likely further promote innovation in EFL instruction models, achieve a more learner-centered teaching paradigm, exert a constructive influence, promote interdisciplinary integration and collaboration, and ensure the improvement of educational quality and equity.