Call for Submissions

Multilingual Education in the AI Era

The Bilingual-Multilingual Education Interest Section (B-MEIS) of the TESOL International Association invites submissions for the Spring 2026 Issue of Multilingual Connections, centered on the theme: «Multilingual Education in the AI Era».

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become embedded in the global education system. Therefore, it is essential to examine how AI tools are shaping multilingual learning environments. This special issue aims to examine how AI is transforming the way learners engage with language learning and how teachers, institutions, and communities are responding to the opportunities and risks it presents.

Recent research highlights the dual nature of AI integration in bilingual education. On the one hand, AI-powered voice chatbots can support learners by providing personalized, multimodal, and interactive learning experiences (Koç & Savaş, 2024). On the other hand, AI technologies also raise significant concerns about bias, data privacy, linguistic imperialism, ethics, etc. (Holmes, Bialik, & Fadel, 2019). Moreover, the research raises concerns about AI literacy in K-12 multilingual settings, particularly in addressing equity and student agency (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019; Casal‑Otero et al., 2023). It is particularly interesting to observe how students themselves perceive and negotiate AI in their learning journey, particularly about authorship, identity, and ownership of AI-mediated education. Moreover, automated AI systems are often trained on dominant language corpora, reinforcing standard language while marginalizing non-dominant varieties and translanguaging practices (Blodgett et al., 2020).

This issue calls for submissions that explore how AI tools interact with translanguaging, heritage language preservations, and inclusivity. Authors are encouraged to center student voices and critical perspectives, particularly from marginalized or underrepresented communities. Submissions may explore but not limit the following areas:

1. How do AI tools enable or inhibit multilingual practices in the classroom?
2. What affordance and risks do AI platforms pose for sustaining endangered and indigenous languages? Which communities are excluded from AI benefits? What risks exist for multilingual learners when AI systems favor dominant language norms only?
3. How can multilingual educators develop student awareness of AI’s limitations, biases, and social implications?
4. How do multilingual students understand their authorship and voices when using AI-powered tools?
5. What safeguards are needed for student data in AI-driven language tools?

Important Dates

• January 15: Call for Proposals
• March 1: Submissions Due
• March 15: Editor Response
• April 1: Final Drafts Due
• April 15: Publication Date

References

Blodgett, S. L., Barocas, S., Daumé III, H., & Wallach, H. (2020). Language (technology) is power: A critical survey of “bias” in NLP. Proceedings of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 5454–5476. https://aclanthology.org/2020.acl-main.485/

Casal‑Otero, L., Catala, A., Fernández‑Morante, C., Taboada, M., Cebreiro, B., & Barro, S. (2023). AI literacy in K‑12: A systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 10, Article 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00418-7

Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education: Promises and implications for teaching and learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332180327

Koç, F. Ş., & Savaş, P. (2024). The use of artificially intelligent chatbots in English language learning: A systematic meta‑synthesis study of articles published between 2010 and 2024. ReCALL, 37(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344024000168

Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education: Recommendations for future research. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0