Rethinking Higher Education/Chapter 6

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Navigating the Challenges of AI Integration in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning

Fang Lu

Boston College, USA

Abstract

This paper explores pedagogical strategies and methods for effectively integrating AI into Chinese language teaching and learning, using case studies that analyze the challenges encountered in composition and literary translation classes. While AI has undeniably revolutionized second language acquisition by enhancing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in numerous ways, it also harbors several potential risks. The paper analyzes examples from student composition assignments and poetry translation exercises across various proficiency levels, from elementary to advanced. It highlights both the positive and negative effects of AI tools on students’ cognitive abilities, such as judgment, critical thinking, and creativity. Additionally, it investigates the complex dynamics between AI tools and language learners, exploring how these interactions influence the cultivation of language competence. This paper further proposes several strategies for redesigning curriculum and assessment methods to address the AI-related challenges. It aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about mitigating AI’s potential detrimental effects on second language acquisition, while also exploring ways to leverage its advancements in a more beneficial and constructive manner within the rapidly evolving landscape of AI technology. AI is a double-edged sword, and it is crucial to wield with caution and effectiveness.

Keywords: AI-assisted second language acquisition, case study approach, challenges of learner-AI interaction, language proficiency development, critical thinking skills, pedagogical strategies, risks of AI in education

INTRODUCTION

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022, higher educational institutions have undergone a dramatic shift in their approach to AI-powered education, from initially rejection to cautious acceptance, to enthusiastic adoption accompanied by usage guidelines. Yet, at every stage, the topic of AI has consistently sparked intense debate among both university leaders and faculty members, as it has compelled them, in an unprecedented way, to reexamine the very foundation of higher education. The university mission, typically highlighted on the homepage of most institutions, is intended to guide students through a journey of intellectual transformation—cultivating critical thinking, creativity, and a deep understanding across diverse fields. Achieving these goals requires rigorous academic programs, research opportunities, and exposure to varied perspectives. Only by guiding students through these challenges can universities equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to solve complex problems, cultivate a lifelong passion for learning, and establish ethical frameworks. These foundations are essential for making meaningful contribution to society and navigating an ever-evolving global landscape. While integrating AI has brought many benefits to education, such as enhancing learning experiences, accelerating research progress and promoting innovation, it has also created significant challenges for educators—challenges that affect the core mission. These include ethical dilemmas, risks of students’ dependency on the AI tools, and more critical concerns, such as potentially diminishing students’ critical thinking skills. As new AI tools continue to evolve and become more widely used in society, it has become essential for educators to find ways to harness the AI tools effectively to support learning while also safeguarding students from potential pitfalls in this digital landscape.

My study focuses on examining challenges encountered in the use of AI in Chinese language teaching and learning. Although some research studies and field practices have shown that AI can enhance Chinese teaching and learning, there remains a pressing need for empirical research to better understand the potential risks associated with its implementation. My paper presents a range of examples from elementary to advanced Chinese classes to illustrate the negative impacts that misguided use of AI tools can have on students’ cognitive abilities, such as judgement, critical thinking, and creativity. It also investigates the intricate dynamics between AI tools and learners, exploring how these interactions influence the cultivation of students’ language competence. This paper further proposes several strategies for redesigning curriculum and assessment methods to address the AI-related challenges. It aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about mitigating AI’s potential detrimental effects on second language acquisition, while also exploring ways to leverage AI advancements in a more beneficial and constructive manner within the rapidly evolving landscape of AI technology. AI is a double-edged sword, and it is crucial to wield with caution and effectiveness.

The cases I selected for this study are from early Spring 2023, a period when the AI tools were just beginning to gain popularity on campus. As some researches have already pointed out, „despite the buzz across academia about ChatGPT and other generative AI tools,” faculty members have been slower to adopt AI tools compared to students. This gap allowed some students to apply the AI tools to complete homework and exams without being aware of the potential consequences. This caught many faculty members, myself included, by surprise.

CASE STUDIES I: An Example of an Elementary Chinese Writing Assignment

THE FIRST CASE I selected is a writing assignment for students in their second semester of Elementary Chinese, with approximately seven months of study. This assignment asks them to compare lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing (a topic covered in the textbook) with Christmas celebrations in the United States. Students are required to write a minimum of fifteen sentences, making sure to incorporate a wide variety of grammar patterns and vocabulary from recent lessons. They are also encouraged to draw on personal experiences of celebrating Christmas to contrast with the lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing described in the textbook. Students are given two days in advance to prepare for the assignment, However, on the test day, they must write their compositions by hand without using any reference materials. Below are two compositions submitted by students A and B, selected as case studies for this research.

Student A’s composition:

The typed version of Student A’s composition is as follows (with those errors corrected and highlighted):

北京和美国都有很多很好玩儿的过节（节日）。可是，北京最有名的过节（节日）跟美国的不一样。在北京，每个人都很喜欢过新年，过北京新年的时候，主要吃的是烤鸭和涮羊肉。新年的时候，每个饭馆都很忙，因为很多北京人要跟朋友们一起去吃饭。新年晚上的时候，很多北京人喜欢锻炼身体或者吃（听）音乐会。北京人过新年跟美国人过圣诞节一样喜欢送人礼物。在美国，我过圣诞节的时候喜欢跟妈妈一起寄包裹，送给朋友和家人。我有很多家人住在New Jersey, 所以我们每年航空寄一个很大的包裹到我们家人的家。过圣诞节的时候，美国人都很喜欢吃（听）民乐，可是我们常常没（不）去吃（听）音乐会，因为十二月的天气很冷，所以美国人不愿意去吃（听）一个音乐会。我和我的朋友们都很喜欢过圣诞节。我明年想去北京跟北京人一起过北京新年！我觉得北京新年可能比美国圣诞节好玩儿多了！

The English translation of Student A’s composition is as follows:

There are a lot of really fun festivals both in Beijing and in the United States. However, the most famous holiday in Beijing is different from the one in the United States. In Beijing, everyone loves to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and when you celebrate the lunar New Year, the main dishes are roast duck and shabu-shabu. Every restaurant is very busy on New Year’s Day because many Beijingers enjoy dining out with their friends. On New Year’s night, many of them like to exercise or attend concerts. Beijingers like to give gifts to people on New Year’s Day just like Americans do on Christmas. In the U.S., I enjoy sending packages with my mom to friends and family for Christmas. I have a lot of relatives living in New Jersey, so we send a large package by air to their home every year. During Christmas season, Americans love listening to folk music, but we often don’t go to concerts because it’s very cold in December, so Americans don’t want to go out. My friends and I are very fond of Christmas. I want to go to Beijing next year to celebrate the lunar New Year with the Beijingers! I believe it might be even more enjoyable than celebrating Christmas in the United States!

Analysis: A Piece of Work Created without AI Assistance

Student A’s composition aligns well with the level expected of students who have studied Elementary Chinese for about seven months. She demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements; she carefully organizes her thoughts to structure her writing. Her work incorporates a variety of recently learned grammatical structures and vocabulary, and she effectively draws on personal experiences, describing how she and her mom prepared holiday gifts and sent them to family relatives in New Jersey. Towards the end of her composition, after comparing and contrasting the holiday customs, she ultimately expresses a wish to one day experience a lunar new year celebration in Beijing. Although there are some errors, these are largely minor slips—confusions between characters with similar shapes, occasional omissions, or errors caused by misspelling typical for her level. Overall, her writing thoughtfully reflects her genuine effort to organize her ideas and utilize her language skills to the fullest. It is a well-written comparison of the ways festivals are celebrated in China and the United States. It highlights both the differences and similarities, incorporating specific personal examples to provide a more vivid understanding. This effectively meets the learning goals designed for this assignment.

Student B’s Composition

The typed version of Student B’s composition is as follows, and the highlighted are the grammar or vocabulary in question:

北京的新年庆祝活动通常持续十五天，从农历新年的除夕开始，直到元宵节结束。在这期间，人们会挂起红色的装饰品，打(放)烟花爆竹，聚会吃饭，赠送红包等。中国人认为红色代表着幸福和好运，因此，在这个特殊的节日里他们会穿着新衣服，购买新年物品。

而美国人则主要庆祝圣诞节，这个节日通常在十二月二十五日。圣诞节是一个宗教节日，可在美国，它已成为一个全民性的节日，人们会用绿色和红色的装饰家中（自己的家）。

The English translation of Student B’s composition is as follows:

New Year’s celebrations in Beijing typically last for fifteen days, beginning on New Year’s Eve and concluding with the Lantern Festival. During this festive period, people adorn their homes with red decorations, set off fireworks, gather for celebratory dinners, and exchange red envelopes. The color red is highly significant in Chinese culture, symbolizing happiness and good luck. Consequently, people wear new clothes and purchase various New Year’s items to mark this special holiday.

In contrast, Americans primarily celebrate Christmas, which usually falls on December 25th. While Christmas has religious origins, it has evolved into a widely celebrated national holiday in the United States. People decorate their homes with green and red ornaments, creating a festive atmosphere throughout the season.

Analysis: Problems in Student B’s Composition

Student B’s composition stands out immediately as an extremely formal piece, resembling the style of a newspaper article. The writing style is far more sophisticated than the colloquial spoken style expected of students who have studied Elementary Chinese for just seven months. Rather than using recent learned and practiced grammar patterns, the piece employs more advanced structures and patterns typically introduced to students at a higher level. Vocabulary is nearly flawless, though it lacks the recently taught ones. Instead, a range of distinctly advanced-level vocabulary is employed throughout.

It’s clear that this piece was completed by the student with the help of AI tools, relying heavily on AI’s capabilities while disregarding the assignment requirements discussed in class. Although two days were provided for preparation, this student used the time to input the assignment topic to AI tools such as ChatGPT and memorize the output, without adding his own reflections on the topic. (It is quite possible that he may have also struggled with knowing how to revise a piece generated by the AI.) Consequently, this piece lacks his personal insights, the grammar and vocabulary he has learned, and any reference to his own experiences of celebrating holidays.

In addition to the written assignment, students were also asked to given an oral presentation on their experiences of celebrating holidays. While Student A engaged her classmates with a natural and personal recounting of her experiences, Student B, having only memorized his piece without adding his own thoughts, struggled to speak fluently. His delivery came across as awkward and uncomfortable, highlighting his lack of genuine understanding and personal connection to the topic. Meanwhile, his classmates struggled to understand him because the vocabulary and grammar he pronounced were about two levels above what they were accustomed to.

Reflections: The Adverse Impact of AI Assistance on Second Language Acquisition

By comparing and contrasting these two examples, we can observe the extent to which the inappropriate use of AI tools has affected a student’s judgement, critical thinking, and creativity in the process of learning second language. Student B simply placed blind trust in AI tool’s output without first understanding the differences between spoken and writing styles in Chinese and first varying vocabulary and grammar usage at different language levels. This has exactly evidenced the concerns voiced by educators in second language acquisition after the AI-generated writing tools especially ChatGPT gained popularity. As some of them have pointed out: „the vast potential of these tools for communication across languages regardless of the user’s own skill level threatens to rob second language learners of essential learning opportunities.” This is very much like what a Chinese proverb called „拔苗助长” (a farmer pulling up standing grain to make it grow faster) has illustrated: to act hasty and employ inappropriate methods in an attempt to achieve a goal quickly, only to ultimately ruin everything instead and fail in the end.

This highlights a caution: AI tools, while offer tremendous potential in language learning through personalized tutoring and instant feedback, they may, if used inappropriately, inadvertently undermine a student’s original thought and judgment. Over-reliance on AI-powered translation tools and language learning apps may lead students to seek quick answers rather than deeply engaging with the material. Instead of forming their own sentences and ideas, students may begin to lean heavily on algorithmic suggestions provided, limiting their ability to analyze and understand the assignment designed by instructors to help them grasp linguistic nuances, grammar rules, and cultural contexts essential for mastering a new language. This dependence also reduces opportunities for organic, personal exploration of language, discouraging students from making their own linguistic discoveries. Consequently, this can stifle creativity and critical thinking, as students become less inclined to experiment with language and practice their original writing—an essential part of deepening understanding of language nuances and fostering creativity. Furthermore, the automated feedback provided by AI lacks the personalized insight and constructive criticism a human instructor offers, potentially leading to superficial learning and a reduced capacity for problem-solving and independent thinking in language acquisition.

CASE STUDIES II: An Example of Lyric Translation in Advanced Chinese Class

THE SECOND CASE I selected for this study is an example of lyric translation in Advanced Chinese class. I use it to remind my students of the importance of maintaining original judgement, creativity, and critical thinking skills in the age of AI. while AI can be a valuable educational tool, it is essential for students to balance its use with opportunities for independent language exploration and self-expression.

The song I used is titled „东北人都是活雷锋” (All Dongbeiren are Living Leifengs). The original Chinese lyrics of the song（歌词）is as follows:

老张开车去东北, 撞了/

肇事司机耍流氓, 跑了/多亏一个东北人 /送到医院缝五针, 好了/ 老张请他吃顿饭/ 喝了少了他不干, 他说 /俺们这儿嘎都是东北人 /俺们这儿嘎特产高丽参 /俺们这儿嘎猪肉炖粉条 /俺们这儿嘎都是活雷锋 /俺们这儿嘎没有那种人 /撞了车了哪能不救人 /俺们这儿嘎山上有珍蘑 /那个人他不是东北人 /

翠花，上酸菜!

This song was introduced to my students when they were learning a personal essay titled „五味”, written by a renowned writer 汪曾祺 (1920-1997). This literary essay humorously explores China’s rich and distinctive culinary flavors, discussing their connection to the unique reginal/local culture and the diverse temperaments of its people. After learning about the Northeastern China’s culinary specialties and fully understanding the lyrics, students were thoroughly amused by the song. They especially enjoyed the humor woven into the lyrics and the unique rhythms created by the masterful use of sound and rhymes.

For their homework, students were asked with translating the lyrics of the song and bringing their versions to the next class for discussion. However, rather than completing the translation independently, all of the students used AI in some form—either during the translating process or afterward—to assist with their effort. As a result, their translations ended up being remarkably similar to one another and closely mirrored the ChatGPT-generated version we reviewed together in class. The AI’s English translation of the song is as follows:

To remind my students of the importance of preserving their own voices in translation, I thus provided them another English version translated by Charlie Custer in 2010:

Old Zhang drove his car up north, crushed it.

The driver who hit him was a jerk and peaced.

Thanks God there was a Northeaster,

who took him to the hospital for five stiches, he was healed.

Old Zhang took him out to eat.

He drank a ton and wouldn’t slow down, he said……

Round here, we are all Dongbeiren (Northeasters).

Round here, our specialty is Korean ginseng;

Round here, we’ve got pork noodle stew,

Round here, we are all living Lei Fengs.

Round here, we don’t have that kind of person.

If you hit someone with a car how can you then not help them?

Round here, our mountains have precious mushrooms,

That guy who hit you was not a Dongbeiren.

Cuihua, serve the suancai!

Students were then asked to compare the two translations and discuss which one best captured the essence and impact of the original. They were encouraged to focus on the nuance of each translation, particularly how the translators uniquely conveyed emotional subtleties, cultural context, and distinct voices and characterization of the original text. They were also reminded to assess the style of each translation: to what extent did each version preserve the original’s literary aesthetics, such as its poetic rhythm, flow, and tone?

After a thorough comparison, students unanimously concluded that the human-created translation from 2010 was more successful in preserving the original text’s depth, tone, and cultural subtleties. During the class discussion, some students admitted that, in their own attempts to capture the subtlety and style of the lyrics, they had come close. However, they ultimately stopped trying, feeling that the AI translation was flawless and fearing that their own efforts might introduce errors they couldn’t overcome as precisely as the AI did.

Reflections: Overcoming the Fear of Making Mistakes and the Drive for Perfectionism

The case study on students translating Chinese song lyrics illustrates that the availability of AI tools capable of producing high-quality translations can reduce students’ motivation to engage in the creative process of generating original ideas or expressions. This perception nudges them toward accepting the AI version over trusting their own judgement and intuition, ultimately reducing their creative engagement in translation tasks, and preventing them from learning through mistakes. This can also lead to an increase focus on perfectionism.

However, as the ancient Chinese proverb reveals, „Fall into a pit, gain in wisdom” (吃一堑长一智): learning often arises from making mistakes or overcoming challenges. Making mistakes play a crucial rule in second language acquisition, offering valuable opportunities for correction and insight. They help students clarify complex grammar rules, improve vocabulary usage, and refine pronunciation nuances. Each mistake acts as a stepping stone, guiding students to hone their skills and deepen their understanding. Embracing mistakes with an open mind is actually a type of cognitive fitness, it can foster resilience, and empower students to gradually build confidence in gaining competence in their new language.

CONCLUSION: Effective Chinese Teaching and Learning in the age of AI: Building Awareness, Driving Motivation, and Redesigning for Success

The landscape of education is evolving rapidly with the rise of new AI tools, requiring both faculty and students to adapt quickly to this changing learning environment. Through the above selected case studies, my research has revealed the potential detrimental effects these AI tools can have on second language acquisition. These findings emphasize the importance of encouraging students to value the learning process, including the laborious struggle and persistence required, rather than focusing on quickly finishing assignments through the use of AI tools. They also highlight the urgency to implement strategies that support students in overcoming the fear of making errors and the pressure of perfectionism, helping them avoid the development of a fixed mindset.

This research underscores the importance of faculty members actively promoting clearer and more effective communication with students about the use of AI tools in learning, enhancing their awareness and motivation through discussions that emphasize the value of process. Ideally, these discussions should begin at the start of each semester and continue throughout the academic year, as appropriate.

The study also suggests that instructors should develop specific guidelines for incorporating AI into second language courses, customized to different levels of language proficiency. To better enhance students’ critical thinking and language skills in this AI driven age, instructors should periodically revise assignments to provide them with more opportunities to practice and strengthen their critical thinking abilities, and redesign tests and exams to include more challenging elements, while also allowing opportunities for corrections and revisions.

AI tools has undoubtedly brought significant benefits to higher education; however, it is a double-edged sword that must be used thoughtfully and effectively.

References

Coffey, L. (2023, October 12). AI buzz dominates annual ed-tech conference: Speakers and attendees at Educause expressed cautious optimism about the early days of artificial intelligence in higher ed. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2023/10/12/ai-buzz-dominates-annual-ed-tech-conference

Coffey, L. (2023, October 31). Students outrunning faculty in AI use. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2023/10/31/most-students-outrunning-faculty-ai-use

Custer, C. (2010). Charlie Custer. ChinaFile. https://www.chinafile.com/contributors/charlie-custer

Roose, K. (2023, January 12). Don’t ban ChatGPT in schools. Teach with it. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/technology/chatgpt-schools-teachers.html

Tseng, W., & Warschauer, M. (2023). AI-writing tools in education: If you can’t beat them, join them. Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, 1–19. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jccall-2023-0008/html

Xue Cun. (2001, March 7). Lyric by Xue Cun, designed and directed by Liu Lifeng [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL3AiUVqkG0

汉译英歌曲欣赏：东北人都是活雷锋. (n.d.). OK Translation. https://www.oktranslation.com/news/twininfo19684.html