Like other OLBI chairs, his Research Chair in Technology-Mediated Language Learning and Artificial Intelligence serves as a centre of excellence in public policy and language teaching best practices. It also strengthens the quality of uOttawa’s research and collaborative reach, both in Canada and internationally.
In the second year of a five-year term, Professor Séror is dedicating his efforts to a matter both urgent and complex: how to integrate AI in language teaching in a critical, ethical and resolutely human manner.
Better understanding the benefits and risks of AI in language teaching
The chair brings together work in several complementary areas. The first examines the pedagogical possibilities of AI in supporting learners’ language development. It involves exploring, for example, how AI can help with the feedback or written text revision process, or enhance comprehension abilities in the target language.
The second investigates AI literacy: what both students and instructors must know and master to use these tools in a safe, informed manner so that the technology serves, rather than compromises, learning.
A third area addresses the use of AI to promote multifaceted approaches that explicitly value students’ bilingualism and plurilingualism.
The chair is also developing partnerships worldwide. Professor Séror represents Canada as an associate member of the AI LANG initiative, led by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), which seeks to create a reference framework to guide language teaching in the AI era. Since last year, Professor Séror has also been a global fellow of the Multilingualism, Interculturality and Language Lab(CU.MIL), an initiative led by Circle U, an alliance of nine European universities working to advance research and education related to multilingualism, interculturalism and language learning.
In addition to its international networks, the chair plays a key role in training educators and offering them, as well as parents and Canadian and international educational organizations, customized training and presentations. It also helps train the next generation by working with students who want to conduct research on the impact, potential and risks of AI for language teaching.
“What’s important is to remind ourselves that intelligence doesn’t lie in a tool but rather in the human activity that guides it, interprets it and gives it meaning. While artificial intelligence encourages us to do more, to go further and to explore new avenues for language courses, it also highlights the need to preserve a necessary clear-headedness so that these machines continue to serve educational purposes. The goal is that, in a world where machines can talk, it be our voices and our ideas, and those of our students, that continue to prevail.” — Jérémie Séror, Research Chair in Technology-Mediated Language Learning and Artificial Intelligence
“The goal is that, in a world where machines can talk, it be our voices and our ideas, and those of our students, that continue to prevail.”
Jérémie Séror
— Research Chair in Technology-Mediated Language Learning and Artificial Intelligence
What’s a research chair?
A research chair is a mechanism that allows a professor to conduct a priority research program through additional support: an institutional setting, funding and available time for research. It serves as a centre of expertise that can attract talent, forge worldwide networks and influence policy and practice in its field.
Humans at the heart of language learning
How can we best harness the power of AI to support language learning while preserving human connection, judgment and creativity?
This question is central to Jérémie Séror’s Research Chair in Technology-Mediated Language Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Beyond documenting how teachers can use AI to advance their pedagogical goals, Professor Séror focuses on the essential issue in AI literacy: helping educators and students understand what the technology can and can’t do and how to use it safely.
This work matters. Educators and institutions must make urgent decisions on matters that are unresolved. Thus, the questions driving Professor Séror’s research include:
- At what age should students be exposed to AI tools in language learning?
- To what extent should students use AI independently versus with guidance?
- If we expect teachers to guide students, how can we ensure teachers are truly equipped to do so?
- Why is it still important to learn and teach languages in the age of AI?
- What safeguards must institutions put in place to ensure AI use is safe, legal and ethical?
- How do we hold technology companies accountable for building tools that serve educational value and the broader public good?
At the same time, Professor Séror champions the value of “human literacy,” the capacity to understand, protect and cultivate the distinctly human dimensions of communication, connection and learning. “As technology increasingly mediates meaning making, and even social interaction, the human dimension becomes more, not less, important,” says Professor Séror.
Research reaching beyond the classroom
Knowledge mobilization is a two-way street. Professor Séror doesn’t just publish and present his findings — he also listens to educators and students, allowing their questions and insights to shape the next round of research.
Professor Séror is currently co-editing a forthcoming special journal issue on AI and plurilingualism for French-language educators and developing AI literacy modules and professional development workshops that help teachers integrate AI within the language learning curriculum.
For teachers, this means resources and recommendations grounded in best practices for lesson planning, task design and pedagogical sequencing. The question isn’t whether to use AI, but how to integrate it alongside other tools in the language classroom.
For policymakers, this means guidance on legal and governance frameworks concerning what to enable, what to restrict and what safeguards to require. For the broader public, this means involvement in community events, digital content and conversations, to ensure research remains connected and informs people’s lives.
As Professor Séror puts it, “When we get language education right, we can make an extraordinary difference in people’s lives. Language learning is one of the most powerful ways to broaden our horizons and deepen our understanding of others.”