AI-MEDIATED LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DIGITAL COLONIALISM: A CRITICAL APPLIED LINGUISTICS (CAL) ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMIC BIAS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING TECHNOLOGIES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has significantly reshaped English language teaching and learning practices across the globe, including postcolonial contexts such as Pakistan. AI-mediated language learning technologies are frequently promoted as neutral, efficient, and innovative solutions capable of personalizing instruction, improving learner outcomes, and addressing long-standing pedagogical challenges. However, such claims often overlook the sociopolitical dimensions of technology and the ideological assumptions embedded within algorithmic systems. Drawing on Critical Applied Linguistics (CAL) and postcolonial theory, this conceptual article critically examines AI-mediated English language teaching technologies as contemporary instruments of digital colonialism. It argues that algorithmic bias embedded in AI systems reproduces linguistic hierarchies by privileging native-speaker norms, Western epistemologies, and standardized varieties of English while marginalizing local linguistic identities and pedagogical realities in Pakistan. By situating AI technologies within Pakistan’s complex sociolinguistic and educational landscape, the article highlights how AI-driven platforms risk reinforcing linguistic imperialism under the guise of technological neutrality. The study calls for ethically grounded, context-sensitive, and socially just approaches to AI adoption in English language education that recognize linguistic diversity, empower local stakeholders, and align with emancipatory educational goals.