THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE EXTENT OF ITS IMPACT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching and learning has brought to place significant innovations in the education sector. This study examines the extent of AI impact on English language teaching and learning in tertiary institutions across the globe. It is anchored on Venkatesh’s et al. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, explains how technologies are accepted and used in society. Analytic survey and explanatory sequential designs, and mixed-methods are employed. Structured online questionnaire was used to gather data from 100 student and teacher respondents each, making up 200 respondents. The data were subjected content and thematic analysis, using interpretive devices, simple percentage, Likert four-scale coding, tables, and figures. The results show 183 (91.5%) respondents indicating that AI has been positively impact English language teaching and learning at a high extent. Next, 119 (59.5%) showed the negative impact of AI on English language teaching and learning is at a low extent. And, 186 (93%) respondents confirmed that AI has been significantly transforming and innovating language teaching and learning in tertiary institutions across the globe. The study concludes that AI has been significantly impacting English language teaching and learning in various regards, leading to improved performance, optimization, seamlessness, and personalized teaching and learning of English language. Among other recommendations, policy and administrative frameworks are needed to ensure effective and ethical utilization of AI tools for English language teaching and learning among students and teachers of tertiary institutions of various nations of the globe.