A Classroom-based Study on the Application of Artificial Intelligence Translator: The Use and Perception of AI by Low-achieving Primary School English Learners

This study aims to explore the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support struggling young learners and provide insights for applying AI to teaching and learning English in the primary classroom. AI is suggested to be an innovative technology that will shape the future of education. Special attention is paid to how the future of education can be unveiled in real classrooms that adopt AI and how teachers and students can benefit from it. The participants of this study were three pupils with learning difficulty, a homeroom teacher, two English subject teachers, and two external experts. Data was collected via Q-sort, classroom observations, interviews with the participating students, a diagnostic test, a sentence completion test, student performance, and a research log. The triangulated analysis of the collected data revealed that the students heavily relied on AI in the beginning, then gradually developed their routines with AI use, and finally used it less, which gave them a sense of independence. It is further shown that AI relieved the anxiety of the low-achieving English learners and gave them confidence by providing them with options when faced with difficulties in class. These findings provide insights for understanding the directions of AI applications in English learning and teaching, leading to support for low-achieving pupils’ learning and policy for basic education guarantee.