The ethical challenges of AI in education

Billie Jago
A group of students stood around a teacher on a laptop
Reading time: 5 minutes

AI is revolutionising every industry, and language learning is no exception. AI tools can provide students with unprecedented access to things like real-time feedback, instant translation and AI-generated texts, to name but a few.

AI can be highly beneficial to language education by enhancing our students鈥 process of learning, rather than simply being used by students to 鈥榙emonstrate鈥 a product of learning. However, this is easier said than done, and given that AI is an innovative tool in the classroom, it is crucial that educators help students to maintain authenticity in their work and prevent AI-assisted 鈥榗heating鈥. With this in mind, striking a balance between AI integration and academic integrity is critical.

How AI impacts language learning

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini have made it easier than ever for students to refine and develop their writing. However, these tools also raise concerns about whether submitted texts are student-produced, and if so, to what extent. If students rely on text generation tools instead of their own skills, our understanding of our students鈥 abilities may not reflect their true proficiency.

Another issue is that if students continue to use AI for a skill they are capable of doing on their own, they鈥檙e likely to eventually lose that skill or become significantly worse at it.

These points create a significant ethical dilemma:

  • How does AI support learning, or does it (have the potential to) replace the learning process?
  • How can educators differentiate between genuine student ability and AI-assisted responses?

AI-integration strategies

There are many ways in which educators can integrate AI responsibly, while encouraging our learners to do so too.

1.听Redesign tasks to make them more 鈥楢I-resistant鈥

No task can be completely 鈥楢I-resistant鈥, but there are ways in which teachers can adapt coursebook tasks or take inspiration from activities in order to make them less susceptible to being completed using AI.

For example:

  • Adapt writing tasks to be hyperlocal or context-specific. Generative AI is less likely to be able to generate texts that are context-bound. Focus on local issues and developments, as well as school or classroom-related topics. A great example is having students write a report on current facilities in their classroom and suggestions for improving the learning environment.
  • Focus on the process of writing rather than the final product. Have students use mind maps to make plans for their writing, have them highlight notes from this that they use in their text and then reflect on the steps they took once they鈥檝e written their piece.
  • Use multimodal learning. Begin a writing task with a class survey, debate or discussion, then have students write up their findings into a report, essay, article or other task type.
  • Design tasks with skill-building at the core. Have students use their critical thinking skills to analyse what AI produces, creatively adapt its output and problem solve by fact-checking AI-generated text.

2.听Use AI so that students understand you know how to use it

Depending on the policies in your institution, if you can use AI in the classroom with your students, they will see that you know about different AI tools and their output. A useful idea is to generate a text as a class, and have students critically analyse the AI-generated text. What do they think was done well? What could be improved? What would they have done differently?

You can also discuss the ethical implications of AI in education (and other industries) with your students, to understand their view on it and better see in what situations they might see AI as a help or a hindrance.

3.听Use the GSE Learning Objectives to build confidence in language abilities

Sometimes, students might turn to AI if they don鈥檛 know where to start with a task or lack confidence in their language abilities. With this in mind, it鈥檚 important to help your students understand where their language abilities are and what they鈥檙e working towards, with tangible evidence of learning. This is where the GSE Learning Objectives can help.

The Global Scale of English (GSE) provides detailed, skill-specific objectives at every proficiency level, from 10 to 90. These can be used to break down complex skills into achievable steps, allowing students to see exactly what they need to do to improve their language abilities at a granular level.

  • Start by sharing the GSE Learning Objectives with students at the start of class to ensure they know what the expectations and language goals are for the lesson. At the end of the lesson, you can then have students reflect on their learning and find evidence of their achievement through their in-class work and what they鈥檝e produced or demonstrated.
  • Set short-term GSE Learning Objectives for the four key skills 鈥 speaking, listening, reading and writing. That way, students will know what they鈥檙e working towards and have a clear idea of their language progression.

4.听Design tasks that are not AI-dependent

While AI can generate full essays or summaries in seconds, it鈥檚 far less effective as a shortcut for productive skills like speaking, especially when tasks are spontaneous, interactive and happen in real time. This makes speaking one of the best areas to focus on for genuine language production in the classroom (without the use of AI).

To reflect real-world communication, we should focus on designing tasks that encourage active listening, responding to others, justifying their opinions and adapting their ideas as the conversation evolved 鈥 none of which AI can do for them.

That being said, AI can be helpful for speaking preparation tasks. If students know they have a speaking class or discussion task coming up in their lesson, you could guide them towards using AI to give them some ideas for how to link their points, generate useful and functional phrases around a certain topic, or generate arguments to personalise and adapt. In this way, AI becomes a 鈥榬ehearsal partner鈥 rather than something students rely on.

By designing tasks that are unscripted, authentic and collaborative, we shift language production into real-time, boosting confidence, building fluency and helping students to develop their speaking skills authentically.

The path forward

AI is here to stay, and its capabilities will only improve from where they are now. This will inevitably give rise to more and more ethical considerations as time goes on. With that in mind, educators and institutions should begin to shape its role in language learning and understand that the key question should not be 鈥Should AI be allowed?鈥 but rather, 鈥How can AI be used responsibly to enhance learning, while ensuring a true reflection of student ability'?

About the author

is an ELT writer and teacher trainer specialising in digital learning and assessment. She has written for various 色猫AV titles including Gold Experience, Roadmap, Rise and Shine and PTE Expert, and is a regular item writer for the PTE-Academic exam. Alongside materials writing, she delivers international teacher training sessions and workshops and is the founder of the professional development platform and providing AI expertise to educators.

More blogs from 色猫AV

  • A teacher stood helping a student in a large classroomw with other students sat working

    How do different motivations change how students learn English?

    Por Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Students all over the globe learn English for many reasons. Some of these motivations may come from the students themselves 鈥 perhaps they are learning because they are travelling to an English-speaking area, or they want to be able to converse with English-speaking friends and colleagues. Other reasons for learning could include meeting school requirements, studying abroad, or progressing their careers.

    As well as different reasons to learn English, there are also different goals. Many students are still focused on becoming fluent in English, and we are seeing an increase in people who want to learn the language for specific reasons. For example, immersing themselves in a particular culture or simply being able to order from a menu while travelling abroad.

    Teachers are focusing on these personal needs to help students achieve their actual goals. It鈥檚 likely you鈥檝e already spoken to your students about why they want to learn English. Understanding this is important as different motivations can influence a student鈥檚 attitude towards learning the language 鈥 and it may be necessary for you to adapt your teaching strategies for different groups of learners.

    Teaching English to different groups of learners

    Let鈥檚 meet some different groups of students, learn a little more about their motivations and explore whether different motivations alter how students learn English. You may recognise some of these learners in your classes.

    1. Adult learners

    These students are learning English for pleasure or personal reasons. It might be because of travel, social or family reasons or perhaps because a better grasp of English might assist them with their careers. There are also adult learners who could be learning English as an immigration requirement.

    For example, 23-year-old Alice decided to learn English so she could meet people and have more meaningful interactions with her English-speaking neighbours. She says: 鈥淚 was very shy and not very confident in speaking to people, but learning English helped me connect with others and meet new people. I have changed a lot.鈥

    A motivation like Alice鈥檚 requires strong teacher support and peer motivation woven into structured learning. Alice can set her goals and with the GSE Learning Objectives map out what she needs to do to achieve them. Teacher encouragement and personal support 鈥 and easy access to digital coursework, a social community of others all learning English, and small classes that emphasise conversation 鈥 keep people like Alice engaged and motivated to achieve her language goals. 鈥淚 cannot do it without them鈥, she says.

    2. Professional learners

    These learners are typically in a more formal type of English programme and are learning the language to achieve specific career milestones, such as a promotion. Their employer might even be paying for their learning or they might be reimbursed for the cost of their lessons.

    Vincenzo is 33 and works as a Product Manager in Milan for an international organization with offices around the world. He says: 鈥淚 asked to take English classes as part of my professional development. My company chose an English provider and gave me a choice of group or one-to-one classes. I chose one-to-one classes as I鈥檓 easily distracted.鈥

    Professional learners like Vincenzo succeed using a blended learning model of learning in class and at home that they can tailor around their lives. They have a strong motivation to succeed 鈥 that鈥檚 why learning at home works for them 鈥 but step-by-step progress provided by the GSE Learning Objectives is also important to keep this motivation alive. 鈥淚 met with my teacher once a week where we would work on mistakes I would make while speaking English. He would also give me extra practice materials, like interesting games and videos to listen to in my own time, to help me really get a better understanding of the language,鈥 Vincenzo says.

    3. Academic learners

    Learning English is a requirement for many school programmes and students will continue this at college or university. Many of these students will be learning English with a formal course that offers practice tests for high-stakes exams.

    Seventeen-year-old Subra is from Malaysia and learns English at school. Some of her family live in Australia and she is considering studying abroad to attend a University that specializes in health care. When she was young, she learned in a traditional classroom backed with tests that helped her see how she was progressing. Now she uses technology, such as her Android Huawei phone to practise her English but still needs the validation of regular testing to know she is on track.

    Subra听says: 鈥淚 am used to studying for tests as I prepared hard for exams to get into middle school and senior school, which was totally determined by test results.鈥

    Academic learners like Subra need to see demonstrable results to help them stay motivated and guide them to the level of English they need to achieve to get the required score on high-stakes tests. With the clear GSE Learning Objectives and a placement test, academic learners can map out where they are right now and where they need to be in order to reach their academic goals. These learners need encouragement and validation of their progress from their teachers to help keep them on track.

    Understanding student motivations will help you teach to their specific needs, thus helping them to stay focused and motivated in achieving their goals.

  • Teacher stood at the front of the class writing on a interactive whiteboard

    GSE Teacher Toolkit: Planning a communicative grammar lesson

    Por Sara Davila
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Planning grammar lessons with the GSE Teacher Toolkit

    Grammar is one of the core areas of language teaching. Often, new teachers are nervous about teaching it, but sooner or later, all English teachers will have to get to grips with it. Whether you love or hate teaching grammar to your students, the makes planning a successful grammar lesson easier than ever.听

    When it comes to planning a grammar-focused lesson, there are two main strategies to choose from: a communicative approach or a focus-on-form approach. The communicative approach is more commonly used.听

    So, let鈥檚 have a look at how the GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you plan a communicative grammar lesson that is effective and engaging for your students.听

    Teaching communicative grammar

    When you鈥檙e planning a grammar lesson, you want to be sure there is a reason for students to use the grammar point that you鈥檙e going to teach. That way, your students will be more motivated to learn the form and practise using it correctly.听

    Using and applying grammar generally requires producing something. That鈥檚 why grammar, as an enabling skill, is often aligned to speaking and writing, the productive skills. When you want your students to use or produce a particular grammar form, you can begin by looking for the associated skills in speaking and writing.听

    Choosing a skill to teach

    Imagine that you have a class that is learning at an A2 level (35 - 40 on the GSE range). You鈥檒l want to help them work towards A2+/B1. So, it鈥檚 a good idea to plan lessons around skills that are in your target GSE range to push their progress.听

    In order to plan an A2+ range speaking class, you can filter the GSE Teacher Toolkit to look in your target learning range for specific skills to teach:听

  • A man sat in a living room with books and plants in the background, he is reading a book

    Words that can't be translated into English

    Por Charlotte Guest
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    While English is a rich language, there are some words from other languages that don鈥檛 have a direct translation. These words often describe special feelings, situations, or ideas that are deeply connected to their cultures. For example, just as some languages have specific words for different types of weather, other languages have unique words for particular moments or emotions that are hard to explain in English. Here are some interesting examples of untranslatable words that show us the different ways people see the world.