Artificial intelligence in education 1

Trends and issues in the use of artificial intelligence technologies in education

Kveta Mlynarova

FSU
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Trends and issues in the use of artificial intelligence technologies in education

Technology is a ubiquitous part of our every-day lives in the 21st century. We are a platform

society with the global IT traffic exceeding one zettabyte of information (Bonami et al., 2020). It is

certainly no easy task to deal effectively with zettabytes of information. The challenge of organization

and systematization of vast volumes of data, also called Big Data, is closely related to the concept of

artificial intelligence (AI). AI-driven applications, such as deep learning (DL), use computer

algorithms which can deal with vast amounts of data and improve automatically through experience

(Hatcher & Yu, 2018). In other words, DL is a machine learning technique that teaches computers to

do what comes naturally to humans, that is learn by example. During the past decade, DL has achieved

results which were not possible before and that is why it is getting a lot of attention in a variety of

fields, such as medical diagnostics, autonomous car systems, cyber security, and education. In

education, DL is frequently used in audio processing, text analysis, and natural language processing

(Hatcher & Yu, 2018). Natural language processing is concerned mostly with detection,

comprehension, and also translation of spoken language. Moreover, the application of “a deep neural

network framework” enabled “to jointly perform multichannel enhancement and acoustic modeling,”

which gave rise to the automatic speech recognition (Hatcher & Yu, 2018). The automatic speech

recognition (ASR) is a tool widely utilized in the construction of modern language learning

applications and automatic language assessment systems.

One specific area for utilization of AI and DL in education is foreign language learning,

especially learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The massive trend of mobile learning has

shifted the emphasis on creation of language learning mobile applications that enable repeated training

and expand the opportunities for utilizing the target language, English. The integration of the ASR-

based learning systems enables individualized and instantaneous feedback that can target individual

linguistic phenomena. Moreover, it creates a learning context which reduces cognitive

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overload and enables EFL students to learn at their own pace. Research shows that assessment and

feedback provided through an ASR system can effectively improve students’ English-speaking skills

and decrease their English-speaking learning anxiety. Chen et al. (2022) presents a study, in which a

dynamic assessment-based speech recognition (DA-SR) learning system was designed and utilized

with 56 fifth-grade EFL students from an English course at an elementary school in Taiwan. Equipped

with a tablet computer and a headset, each student could engage in learning with no time and space

restrictions. The learning system included three kinds of learning tasks: picture reading, sentence

pattern reading, and short conversations. The DA-SR learning system transcribes the learners’ spoken

language and evaluates its correctness. In addition, the system interacts with and adopts to the learner

by providing three levels of concrete prompts related to grammar, dialog context, L1 (native language)

translations, and audio-file demonstrations of model sentences in the target language. The study also

used pre- and post- tests of English-speaking skills and questionnaires of learning anxiety and

cognitive load as the instruments for assessing the students’ English learning progress. The research

results concluded that the use of DA-SR significantly contributed to the improvement of the students’

English-speaking abilities. The English-speaking learning anxiety probed in this study included three

dimensions: “English class performance anxiety,” “lack of self-confidence,” and “fear of ambiguity.”

The research data indicated that the DA-SR approach effectively reduced students’ perceptions of

English-speaking learning anxiety in all three dimensions (Chen et al., 2022). Moreover, the research

results showed that all participants experienced low cognitive load during the different learning

activities. Thus, it can be concluded that AI facilitates efficient technology-enhanced learning contexts

and productive learning activities.

In addition to foreign language learning, AI and DL are assuming its undoubtful role in the

field of foreign language assessment, especially in standardized testing. Educational Testing Services

(ETS) is an organization which administers a standardized test for speakers of English as a second
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language (TOEFL). Its internet-based version requires test takers to provide constructed speech

responses, which are later evaluated by human raters. Nevertheless, human rating is considered rather

costly and could be potentially flawed by rater fatigue, bias, and inconsistency. Therefore, ETS is

investing a lot of resources into the development of an AI scoring system called SpeechRater (SR),

which would fully replace human raters and secure consistent application of the scoring rules. The

system consists mainly of five components: (1) speech signal representation, (2) acoustic models, (3)

pronunciation dictionary, (4) language models, and (5) decoding (Zhang 2020). The system assigns a

single score to a response based on the features corresponding to the three construct dimensions of the

TOEFL speaking test: delivery, language use, and topic development. With regards to the first

dimension, the automatic SR assessment is capable of producing robust data especially in the

assessment of fluency and pronunciation. On the other hand, the precision of syntactic features

evaluation (such as grammar and vocabulary) is significantly influenced by the quality of the ASR

transcription of the speech and the accuracy of the automated syntactic structure analysis. The biggest

challenge is automatic evaluation of the discourse dimension (topic development), which utilizes

various approaches to automatic assessment of content appropriateness, discourse coherence, and

rhetorical structure theories (Wang, 2018). Like the language use dimension, discourse-related features

greatly depend on the accuracy of the ASR output. In addition, there are some other difficulties which

the SR may face, such as the poor audio quality, the number of speakers the system is trained on, and

the problems related to non-native speech. Wang (2018) summarizes a study conducted in order to

compare human rating scores and the SR engine scores to determine how consistent they are in

severity and variability. In addition, a question has been raised whether the SR can identify human

raters who are overly strict or lenient in their scoring. The total of 66,000 responses were scored by the

SR and compared to human scores retrieved from the data repository. Next, the differences between

the human raters’ ratings and their corresponding SR ratings were further investigated to identify
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human raters who were stricter or more lenient than other raters. The research results discovered large

discrepancies between the human ratings and the SR scores. Additionally, it appeared the SR scores

differed in consistency while scoring responses from various L1 groups. The SR assigned slightly

higher scores to speakers from Eastern countries than Western countries. Last, some of the

discrepancies between human scores and SR scores were related to the fact that currently the SR

assigns scores based on just two construct dimensions: delivery and language use. Human raters on the

other hand consider also the third dimension, topic development. Considering the research results,

human ratings are still needed as validation criteria to assess the reliability of the scoring model built

into the SR system. With the current state-of-art technology, machine raters cannot yet fully replace

human raters to accurately and reliably assess language speaking proficiency.

Another major challenge as well as crucial vision related to the success of AI in education is

its capability to emulate or replace the teacher. The development of intelligent tutoring systems

promises replacing one-on-one human instruction with personalized and real-time AI feedback. For

instance, the current cutting-edge technology is represented by highly sophisticated artificial systems

called “anthropomorphized artificial education agents” (Schiff, 2021), which are able to respond to

learners in a human-like manner. They can be represented visually, with sound, or with text. They

may be presented as human faces, cartoon animations, or simple text pop-ups. These educational

agents can be linked to a particular role (the teacher, teacher’s assistant, or peer), function (direct

instruction, guidance, feedback), or even an emotional stance (strict, neutral, highly emotional)

(Schiff, 2021). Nevertheless, the implementation of these educational agents brings numerous

challenges and drawbacks which cannot be overlooked. The relatively high cost of this technology is

an important factor which still significantly limits its realization in instructional technologies. Next,

since AI algorithms are built by humans, they can include built-in bias, which was intentionally
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or inadvertently planted in them (Shiff, 2021). Therefore, as private corporations will be in charge of

producing the AI systems, they will have the main say in what content these systems will include and

teach. This could potentially lead to content manipulation in order to enhance certain corporate or

political interests.

In conclusion, the current research trends focus on how AI works and on what level it can be

applied in the field of education. The 21st century platform society expects learners to acquire new

competencies, knowledge, and skills. The traditional way of thinking and designing curriculum was

centered on knowledge transfer. On the other hand, modern society needs people who are able “to put

together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices

wisely” (Bonami et al., 2020). Therefore, the 21st century educational structures have developed a new

mindset. AI is able to analyze multiple aspects of teaching and learning and enable the automation of

parts of educational process. As a consequence, AI has been applied in the development of online

platforms such as learning management systems, language mobile applications, and adaptive tutors

capable of providing personalized benefits in learning. Despite multiple challenges and drawbacks, AI

will continue assuming continuously more significant roles in instructional technology and education.
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References:
Bonami, B., Piazentini, L., & Dala-Possa, A. (2020). Education, big data, and artificial intelligence:

Mixed methods in digital platforms. (English). Comunicar, 28(65), 43-52. https://doi-

org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/10.3916/C65-2020-04

Chen, C.-H., Koong, C.-S., & Liao, C. (2022). Influences of integrating dynamic assessment into a

speech recognition learning design to support students’ English-speaking skills, learning

anxiety, and cognitive load. Educational Technology & Society, 25(1), 1–14.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/48647026

Hatcher, W. G., Yu, W. (2018): A survey of deep learning: Platforms, applications, and emerging

research trends. IEEE Access, (6), 24411-24432. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2830661

Schiff, D. (2021). Out of the laboratory and into the classroom: The future of artificial intelligence

in education. AI & Soc. 36, 331–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01033-8

Wang, Z. (2018). Monitoring the performance of human and automated scores for spoken

responses. Language Testing, 35(1), 101-120. DOI: 10.1177/0265532216679451

Zhang, E.D. (2020). Automated speaking assessment: Using language technologies to score

spontaneous speech. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(3), 327-330.

DOI:10.1080/15434303.2020.1776289