Put Language Instructor to the Driver Seat: Teacher-led online language learning

As digital platforms and data analytics reshape education, foreign language teachers face both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. While learning technologies increasingly generate rich data and offer automated feedback, the essential question is how teachers can remain in the driver’s seat, using these resources to strengthen rather than replace human-centered instruction. This presentation explores the future of data-driven foreign language education, focusing on the evolving role of teachers. It argues that the most meaningful path forward lies in teachers serving as interpreters of learner data, designers of communicative tasks, and facilitators of intercultural understanding. In this model, technology functions as a dashboard that informs and supports instructional decisions, while teachers maintain agency over how data is applied in the classroom. The talk will provide practical suggestions for preparing educators to thrive in this environment: developing critical data literacy, collaborating with platform designers, and adopting pedagogical models that balance technological affordances with human expertise. By centering teachers in the use of data-driven platforms, we can ensure that technology empowers language educators to deliver personalized, engaging, and culturally rich learning experiences for years to come.