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AI and Multilingualism

Language is the central medium for school-based learning and educational participation. The increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in classrooms challenges teachers to diverse starting points. Modern technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), offer teachers valuable tools to overcome language barriers and promote the potential of multilingualism in schools and classrooms. AI-supported tools make it possible to individualise content and facilitate communication in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Research findings (e.g. He & Cardoso, 2021) show that the use of such technologies in combination with traditional teaching methods can improve learning outcomes in the long term.

AI and Multilingualism

Language is the central medium for school-based learning and educational participation. The increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in classrooms challenges teachers to diverse starting points. Modern technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), offer teachers valuable tools to overcome language barriers and promote the potential of multilingualism in schools and classrooms. AI-supported tools make it possible to individualise content and facilitate communication in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Research findings (e.g. He & Cardoso, 2021) show that the use of such technologies in combination with traditional teaching methods can improve learning outcomes in the long term.

Multilingualism

Multilingualism refers to the ability to speak or understand multiple languages. It can be individual, when a person uses different languages, or societal, when several languages coexist within a country. Language skills develop dynamically; they develop or decline over time. Multilingualism fosters cognitive flexibility and intercultural understanding, providing a wide range of educational, communication and participation opportunities in a globalised world. In particular, the concept of translanguaging involves the comprehensive and creative use of an individual’s entire repertoire of linguistic resources in learning and communication contexts.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence in schools refers to digital systems that can learn autonomously, process information, and propose solutions. It supports teachers in lesson planning, diagnostics, and individualised support. Students benefit from adaptive learning programmes, creative applications, and language tools. At the same time, using AI requires a responsible approach to data protection, transparency, and ethical considerations in order to make learning meaningful, safe, and equitable.

AI and Multilingualism

The use of artificial intelligence in the context of multilingualism in schools opens up new opportunities for individualised learning. AI-supported tools can automatically translate texts, support language acquisition through adaptive exercises, and increase the visibility of multilingual resources, providing targeted support for linguistic diversity in classrooms. Teachers receive support with differentiation, while learners can actively draw on their first languages. In this way, AI strengthens multilingualism as a resource for education, inclusion, and intercultural learning.



Mini blended learning platform for teacher training students

Important notes

This mini blended learning platform was developed as part of an academic course in the winter semester 2025/26 and is designed to support self-study on the topics of artificial intelligence and multilingualism. The platform brings together materials, methods, and didactic concepts tested in the course, and prepares them for independent study. Proven exercise scenarios from the course were adopted, systematically refined, and didactically adapted for self-directed learning. The exercise scenarios are based on tried-and-tested teaching and learning settings, enabling students to reflect critically on the use of artificial intelligence in multilingual classroom contexts. The modules can either be completed as a coherent learning path on the topic of AI and multilingualism, or individually, allowing targeted deepening of knowledge in the areas of multilingualism, artificial intelligence, and their didactic integration.



Lecture: Bridging Minds and Machines

On 18 November 2025 at 4 p.m., the Digital Education Research Initiative at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) and the Lab Learning and Skill Analytics at the Technical Information Library (TIB) hosted an event in the “Bridging Minds and Machines” lecture series.

Dr. phil. Ulrich Stitzinger and Gianni Triantis presented a talk entitled “Multilingualism and Translanguaging in Education with Support from Artificial Intelligence.” The presentation was followed by a discussion exploring both the opportunities and the challenges of integrating AI into multilingual teaching practices.
 


AI Meets Classroom

As part of the MULTIK project, Gianni Triantis—lecturer at Leibniz University Hannover and teacher at the vocational school BBS ME Hannover—demonstrated how artificial intelligence can generate texts, create images, and analyse data.

Pupils had the opportunity to experiment with these tools themselves, while student teachers observed the lessons as part of their training. SAT.1 Regional reported on the pupils’ experiences in a feature covering the project.

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Scientific Leadership

Ulrich_Stitzinger Ulrich_Stitzinger © Roland Schneider/Bilderraum Fotostudio
Dr. Ulrich Stitzinger
Teaching Staff with Special Duties
Address
Schloßwender Straße 1
30159 Hannover
Building
Room
018
Office hours
Tue. 17:00 - 18:00 Appointment via Stud.IP
Ulrich_Stitzinger Ulrich_Stitzinger © Roland Schneider/Bilderraum Fotostudio
Dr. Ulrich Stitzinger
Teaching Staff with Special Duties
Address
Schloßwender Straße 1
30159 Hannover
Building
Room
018
Office hours
Tue. 17:00 - 18:00 Appointment via Stud.IP

Technical advisor of the MK Nds.

Multilingual teaching using learning technologies and artificial intelligence, funded by the Leibniz School of Education’s study quality grant