"𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐬𝐞". Developing high-quality English language teaching (ELT) materials, particularly in ESL and EFL contexts, presents significant challenges. Teachers often face obstacles such as ensuring cultural relevance, addressing diverse learner needs, and aligning assessments with standards, all while managing limited resources and time constraints. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) offers a promising solution by streamlining the development process and enabling the creation of adaptable, inclusive ELT materials. This presentation explores how this AI tool can be leveraged to develop ELT materials for ESL or EFL students, specifically examining its role in facilitating material development. The discussion primarily focuses on how ChatGPT can be used to refine learning objectives, support differentiated instruction, and assist with brainstorming, as well as help source multimodal texts, generate sample images, refine assessments, and provide automated feedback. Other AI tools, such as StoryToolz and Grammarly, are also explored for their supplementary role in adjusting text complexity and editing materials for clarity, precision, and linguistic accuracy. Despite the efficiency generative AI introduces, challenges may arise from the lack of human nuance, potential bias, and inaccuracies in AI-generated content. As such, human oversight remains crucial to ensure ethical practices and cultural relevance. This presentation concludes with reflections on these insights and recommendations for future research, emphasizing the importance of equipping language teachers with AI literacy and balancing technological innovation with ethical responsibility.

𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐓 is a Professor and Assistant Vice President for Research and Development at the National University, Philippines. Recognized as one of the 2023 World’s Top 2% Researchers by Stanford University in partnership with Elsevier, he has published extensively in leading SSCI journals on linguistics and education, serves as a reviewer for nearly 100 SSCI/Scopus-indexed journals, and sits on the editorial boards of prominent publications like RELC Journal, Reading & Writing Quarterly, and Assessing Writing. Jessie has earned several international accolades, including the 2023 Liz Hamp-Lyons Best Paper Award and SEAMEO RELC Research Fellowship. His expertise is further recognized through the numerous invitations he has received to serve as a research fellow or visiting scholar at esteemed universities worldwide.

"𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭". It is widely acknowledged that the teacher is central to all that happens in the classroom, managing not only the ongoing human dynamics but ensuring that learning tasks are purposeful, effective, and engaging. Yet, amid this myriad of demands on teachers, very little attention is typically paid to the needs of the teachers themselves. However, as I will show, this is a fundamental mistake given that language teacher wellbeing is the catalyst for igniting learner engagement. The talk will begin by explaining what is meant by wellbeing and briefly reporting on research which reveals how it develops over time and what personal and socio-contextual factors affect it. Next, we will look at how learner engagement is fostered in language classrooms. Then we will make the explicit connections between language teacher wellbeing and learner engagement showing how they are two sides of the same coin. The talk will conclude with suggestions for practical pathways to support language teacher wellbeing. The core premise is that we must begin by caring for the teachers so that they can become the best version of themselves and foster an enriching and engaging experience for their learners. If we sustain the drive of the language teachers, they can inspire the drive for engagement among their learners.

𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐑 is a Professor of Foreign Language Teaching and Head of ELT research and methodology at the University of Graz, Austria. Specialist in the psychology of language learning, she has authored/co-authored/co-edited several books, including Exploring Psychology for Language Teachers (IH Ben Warren Prize), Teacher Wellbeing (ELTon Finalist), Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classrooms (ELTon Finalist), and Psychology in Practice (ELTon Finalist), and over 150 book chapters and articles. She was Principal Investigator on numerous projects and co-editor of the journal, System. She co-edits Multilingual Matters’ Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching series, is president-elect of IAPLL, IATEFL ambassador, and has won the IALSP's Robert C. Gardner Award for Excellence in Second Language Research.

"𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐅𝐋 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬". There is a widespread agreement that the goal of foreign language education needs to move beyond linguistic level and incorporate culture so that learners become effective intercultural communicators and act appropriately in authentic target culture settings (Byram, 1997; 2008). Research has shown that film is one of the most effective tools to teach culture (Mallinger & Rossy, 2003) because it provides authentic representation of culture and language, appeals to students’ interest, and encourages critical reflections. In addition, in recent decades, there has been a strong call for courses that connect language and content such as literature, culture, and film in foreign language classrooms (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010; Snow, Met, & Genesee, 1989). Drawing upon these insights, this presentation introduces an action research conducted in a film course for learners of Chinese as a foreign language in an American university, which uses intercultural communication as the main theme and films as the thread. It connects Chinese language, culture, and the content areas – intercultural communication and film. The presentation will cover course rationale, film selection, material planning, assignment design, and student feedback and comments. This teaching practice can be applied to other foreign language classrooms as well. [References: Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters. Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. Multilingual Matters. Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). Content and language integrated learning. Ernst Klett Sprachen. Mallinger, M., & Rossy, G. (2003). Film as a lens for teaching culture: Balancing concepts, ambiguity, and paradox. Journal of Management Education, 27(5), 608–624. Snow, M. A., Met, M., & Genesee, F. (1989). A conceptual framework for the integration of language and content in second/foreign language instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 23(2), 201–217.]

𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐋𝐈 is an Associate Professor of Chinese at Michigan State University, with nearly thirty years of teaching experience in both the United States and China. Over the course of her career, she has developed a deep expertise in sociolinguistics, with a particular focus on L1 and L2 Mandarin Chinese variation, Chinese language and culture, applied linguistics, and intercultural issues in the teaching and learning of second and foreign languages. Her research has made significant impact on the understanding of language variation, especially within the sociolinguistic variationist paradigm, having published extensively in academic journals and book chapters, including an edited volume on second and heritage language variation with leading sociolinguists. In recognition of her contributions to research and education, she has won multiple grants and awards.

"𝐀 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐀𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧". Artificial intelligence (AI) applications, including ChatGPT and speech recognition, track student learning progress, give immediate feedback, and offer personalized learning content. They have the potential to enhance student engagement in self-regulated learning. However, students who lack strong language proficiency and self-regulated learning abilities may not actively engage in the learning process, resulting in a failure to improve their language proficiency, particularly among young learners. This implies that in K–12 education, self-regulated foreign language learning with AI requires teacher guidance. In this talk, the author presented a human-AI collaboration framework for self-regulated learning that consists of three relationships: student-AI, student-teachers, and teacher-AI. The relationships described the roles of students, teachers, and AI in self-regulated learning. As student engagement can be explained by a motivation theory, the author further elaborates the framework by suggesting self-regulated learning activities with ChatGPT, from the perspective of Self-determination theory. He used an intervention design to investigate how the framework and activities affected L2 K–12 student English language learning. The results showed that the framework significantly improved student learning. The author suggests language teachers co-design EDUGPT for foreign language learning.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐔 is an Assistant Professor of Digital Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as the Associate Director of the Centre for University and School Partnership and the Centre for Learning sciences and Technologies. Having published more than 110 book chapters, conference articles, and journal papers in educational technology, psychology, and language education, he was named among the top 2% most cited scientists in 2022 and 2023 in Education by Stanford University. He is currently Associate Editor for four leading international SSCI journals. Through international collaborations, he has won external grants exceeding USD 32 million (both as PI/CCO-PI and CO-I). His interdisciplinary research looks at how digital technologies, including AI chatbots and LLMs, affect language education and research.