Learning to Chat with AI: A New Paradigm for Empowering Refugee Language Learners in TBLT

Negar Siyari, Georgetown University

AI-powered chatbots offer new learning opportunities for language learners, but their application by minoritized groups of learners like refugees are not studied sufficiently. This study explores using chatbots in TBLT classes with refugee English learners in the U.S. Two Afghan women participants learned how to use ChatGPT for employment and education needs. A new task, “conversing with AI agent,” improved participants’ prompt engineering skills and self-sufficiency. This research highlights TBLT’s potential to address emergent, technology-mediated learner needs. By introducing AI chatbots to refugee language learners, this study advocates for and informs a new paradigm of AI-mediated task-based curricula to serve underrepresented language learners.

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