Generative AI offers significant opportunities for language learning. Tools
like ChatGPT can provide informal second language practice through chats in
written or voice forms, with the learner specifying through prompts
conversational parameters such as proficiency level, language register, and
discussion topics. AI can be instructed to give corrective feedback, create
practice exercises, or develop an extended study plan. Instructors can use AI
to build learning and assessment materials in a variety of media. AI is likely
to make immersive technologies more powerful and versatile, moving away from
scripted interactions. For both learners and teachers, it is important to
understand the limitations of AI systems that arise from their purely
statistical model of human language, which limits their ability to deal with
nuanced social and cultural aspects of language use. Additionally, there are
ethical concerns over how AI systems are created as well as practical
constraints in their use, especially for less privileged populations. The power
and versatility of AI tools are likely to turn them into valuable and constant
companions in many peoples lives (akin to smartphones), creating a close
connection that goes beyond simple tool use. Ecological theories such as
sociomaterialism are helpful in examining the shared agency that develops
through close user-AI interactions, as are the perspectives on human-object
relations from Indigenous cultures.

生成式 AI 为语言学习提供了重要机会。AI 工具如 ChatGPT 可以通过书面或语音聊天提供非正式的第二语言练习，学习者可以通过提示指定对话参数，如熟练水平、语言风格和讨论主题。AI 可以被指导给出修正性反馈、创建练习题或制定扩展学习计划。AI 可以帮助教师构建各种媒体的学习和评估材料。然而，学习者和教师都需要理解 AI 系统的局限性，这些局限性源于它们对人类语言的纯统计模型，从而限制了它们处理语言使用中微妙的社会和文化方面的能力。此外，AI 系统的创建涉及道德问题，并且在使用中存在实际限制，尤其是对于弱势群体。AI 工具的能力和多功能性很可能使它们成为许多人生活中宝贵而常用的伴侣（类似于智能手机），创造出一种超越简单工具使用的紧密联系。生态理论如社会物质主义对于研究用户和 AI 之间产生的共同行动机制非常有帮助，以及来自原住文化的人 - 物关系视角。