Redefining Second Language English Proficiency in the AI Era:

From the Analysis of the Potential and Limitations of Large Language Model AI

Abstract

This paper examines the distinct yet interconnected roles of large language model AI and human cognitive processes in language understanding and generation. AI processes language as digital signs, while humans use it as analog signs, utilizing their neural networks, an analog medium. This fundamental difference underscores that AI is unlikely to supplant human language use. Humans’ language teaching and learning will probably remain essential, particularly in the context of second language education. However, in an era of ubiquitous AI, the proficiency of English as a second language needs reevaluation. This study proposes a model of integrated proficiency in which humans’ embodied ability and AI-augmented capacity will mutually develop and complement each other.