Multilingual Connections, October 2026
Join Our 2026–2027 Webinar Series as a Presenter
B-MEIS is seeking webinar presenters for the 2026–2027 year! Share your expertise in bilingual and multilingual education with our global TESOL community. Submit your ideas and join us!
Letter from the Chair
Nelli Bondareva, University of the People, Pasadena, California, USA
Multilingual Education in the AI Era: Letter from the Editors
Laura B. Liu, Indiana University Columbus, US
Nelli Bondareva, University of the People, Pasadena, US
Kirti Kapur, National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, India
ARTICLES
Preparing Multilingual Educators for GenAI Integration: Moving Beyond Tool Use Toward Professional Judgment
Mariam H. Alothman, The George Washington University, Washington D.C., US
Natalie B. Milman, The George Washington University, Washington D.C., US
How can multilingual educators leverage generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) while addressing its limitations? This article explores critical GenAI literacy, teacher agency, equity-focused professional development, and professional judgment as essential components of responsible AI integration. It argues that effective GenAI use depends not on technological proficiency alone but on educators' ability to evaluate, adapt, and implement AI-supported learning experiences that meet the diverse needs of multilingual learners.
AI Is Multilingual, But Is It Translanguaging?
Brenda Sarmiento Quezada, Purdue University, West Lafayette, US
As GenAI becomes increasingly multilingual, educators may equate multilingual capability with translanguaging pedagogy. This article challenges that assumption, distinguishing AI-generated multilingual output from opportunities for learners to mobilize their own repertoires. It proposes four questions for evaluating whether AI expands multilingual meaning-making or begins to substitute for it.
The Correcting Default: How AI’s Convenience May Narrow the Multilingual Educator’s Skill
Nurdan Kavaklı Ulutaş, Izmir Demokrasi University, Türkiye
Writing tools based on standard language data possess an inherent correcting default. In multilingual classrooms, this directs learners’ efforts towards a single prestigious variety. This article emphasises the risk that teachers gradually compromise the judgment that underpins learners’ full repertoires, potentially resulting in a type of deskilling, and outlines a concise research agenda.
Who Is the Human in the Loop? AI and the Future of Multilingual Education
Anandana Kapur, Independent Researcher, Educator, Filmmaker, US
As generative AI enters multilingual classrooms, policy often treats translation skill as communicative competence. This article examines AI-mediated multilingualism, and offers a three-part equivalence framework (linguistic, communicative, relational), to re-center community knowledge in “human-in-the-loop” governance, and flag data and platform risks so that human linguistic agency stays central to pedagogical policy.