Atsushi Mizumoto
Balancing AI and Human Insight:
Promoting Critical Awareness in L2 Writing Feedback
Generative AI tools are transforming L2 writing pedagogy by offering strengths in automated error correction and feedback. Research shows that learners benefit most when AI supports basic writing tasks, such as grammar and vocabulary, while human teachers address argumentation, coherence, and idea development. Students report that AI feedback feels precise and immediate, but they still rely on their instructors for guidance on meaning, structure, and nuance. Yet AI systems also carry unseen biases. Their judgments may reflect cultural norms embedded in training data, which can color feedback, especially on sensitive topics or culturally diverse writing.
A systematic review of GenAI in L2 writing found that AI can reinforce cultural bias and privilege standard language norms over others. Western-centric AI suggestions have also been shown to shift non-Western writers toward dominant stylistic norms, resulting in a reduction of cultural variation in their writing.
This talk draws on empirical studies to offer a balanced training model for writing teachers. It begins with AI tools handling basic error correction in grammar and vocabulary, freeing instructors to focus on more complex aspects such as argument development and coherence. Teachers then critically review AI feedback for cultural sensitivity and fairness, encouraging students to do the same. Reflective activities prompt both teachers and students to ask if the feedback assumes a single cultural norm or alternative expressions could be used. The approach is illustrated through three elements: automated error identification guided by student performance data; teacher-led assessment of content, logic, and meaning; and classroom activities that make AI review a shared, critical process. Training teachers to oversee AI tools responsibly can strengthen instruction while keeping fairness central. When balanced and overseen by informed L2 writing teachers, AI can play a helpful role in classrooms without compromising cultural awareness or instructional rigor.
Atsushi Mizumoto, Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education, is a Professor at the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies and the Graduate School of Foreign Language Education and Research, Kansai University, Japan. He has published scholarly articles in leading journals, including Applied Linguistics, Language Learning, Language Teaching Research, Language Testing, and System. He is the recipient of the Research Encouragement Award from the Japanese Association for English Corpus Studies (2016) and the Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement from Language Education and Technology (2017). For more information or to connect via social media, please visit his website: https://mizumot.com/
Back to 2025 Plenary Speakers