Content area
Information technology, as an essential element of modern teaching, has always played a vital role in foreign language teaching. Recently, with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching has been increased in all aspects. To identify the current research status and future development trends, this research presents a visual analysis of the integration development of information technology into foreign language teaching (2000–2024), which is based on 4, 587 documents from the WoSCC (Web of Science Core Collection) database and CiteSpace software. The results show that the integration research has experienced a period of incubation (2000-2005), followed by an emergent period (2006-2019), before entering a relatively stable period since 2020. The keywords used for research on integration development can be summarized as follows: integration idea, technological media, instructional approach, and learning method. (1) Teaching idea is upgraded from auxiliary integration to resource integration and structure integration; (2) Technological media has transformed from audio-visual media to interactive media, as well as intelligent media; (3) There are three instructional approaches, including computer-aided teaching, multimedia teaching and intelligent teaching; (4) There are three corresponding learning methods: independent learning based on audio-visual materials, interactive learning based on diversified information platforms and personalized learning based on intelligent technology. In the future, the research on the integration of information technology and foreign languages will become more refined and systematic, highlighting student-centered teaching reform and the intelligent analysis of personalized learning data, which will fundamentally change the forms of teaching resources, ways of teaching and learning, and modes of evaluation.
Introduction
Since the early 21st century, the emergence of the fourth technological revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and 5G communication, has marked the beginning of the digital network era (Schwab 2016). A number of multifunctional technological products such as smartphones and ChatGPT have continuously emerged and upgraded, having a profound effect on educational practice and research (Farrokhnia et al. 2024; Martínez et al. 2021). For educators, taking full advantage of digital technology for further reform of educational informatization has become an inevitable trend (Díaz and Nussbaum 2024). The Global Education Monitoring Report by UNESCO (2023) highlights the transformative impact of digital technology on education, driving changes in pedagogical approaches and reshaping the conceptualization of knowledge and learning. In terms of foreign language (FL) teaching, the impact of information technology on its development is reflected in various aspects of the language teaching process, involving access to authentic language resources, the convenience of interactive communication, and the innovation of language teaching methods (Sutherland et al. 2004; Klímová 2018).
Currently, information technology has been fully integrated into foreign language teaching, which not only affects the educational environment, teaching methods, and teacher–student relationships in schools (Redondo et al. 2020), but also promotes the innovation of key educational elements such as the classroom structure and teaching ideas (Arnold and Ducate 2006). Given the rapid changes in FL teaching, it is essential to review the course of their integration, identify the key development stages and characteristics, and further identify future development trends. Previous studies have focused mainly on the theoretical construction of foreign language information technology teaching from an interdisciplinary perspective (Guo and Lee 2023), as well as the direct impact of information technology innovation on foreign language teaching practices (Kramsch 2014). However, there has been little research on integration development from the perspective of quantitative data in the literature. Moreover, although some studies have explored individual technological innovations and their immediate impact on teaching practices, the longitudinal analysis of these trends has been largely neglected. In view of this, a thorough literature review is needed to highlight the gaps, underscoring the need for more data-driven analysis to map the evolution of foreign language teaching and information technology. This study adopts bibliometric methods and visualization software to systematically analyze the development process of integration, which not only aims to provide a clearer understanding of the emerging hotspots and trends in the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching, but also offers practical recommendations for educators to explore new methods and strategies.
This article aims to explore the following three research questions:
Q1: What stages of development has the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching gone through?
Q2: What are the characteristics of each stage in terms of teaching idea, technological media, instructional approach, and learning method?
Q3: What is the future trend of the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching?
Literature review
CiteSpace, as a tool for bibliometric analysis, offers distinct advantages when visualizing the evolution of research trends, emerging hotspots, and shifting focuses in a given filed over time. In the filed of foreign language teaching and information technology, there have been some visualized knowledge mapping studies (Zhang and Umeanowai 2025; Yilmaz et al. 2022), which only focus on individual technologies or specific aspects of foreign language teaching. As such, the literature review of this study mainly focuses on three aspects: theoretical construction, practical integration, and cutting-edge research.
Theoretical construction of foreign language informatization teaching
Foreign language teaching has a history of hundreds of years worldwide, and many developed theories, such as Universal Grammar, Autonomous Induction, Input Processing, and Interaction Framework, have emerged (VanPatten et al. 2020). According to Richards and Rodgers, early teaching theories can be divided into two main groups: process-oriented theories and condition-oriented theories, with the former emphasizing the mental process of learners, and the latter teaching techniques and classroom conditions (Richards and Rodgers 2001). Since the integration of information technology into teaching at the beginning of the 20th century, the theoretical basis of FLT has undergone a dramatic shift, from behaviorist theory, cognitive theory, constructivist theory, to connectionist theory (Dudeney and Hockly 2012). Behaviorist theory holds that learning a foreign language is a process that involves constant repetition and imitation of language information (Castagnaro 2006). In contrast, from the perspective of cognitive theory, Noam Chomsky argues that language acquisition is an internal thinking-learning process, that relies on learner’s intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load in learning (Chomsky 2021; Jiang et al. 2017). Constructivist theory places greater emphasis on the active role of learners in building their own understanding, claiming that language acquisition is the process of reconstructing existing language schemas in the learner’s mind (Fox 2001). With the increasing influence of information technology on education, connectivism was first proposed by George Siemens in 2005, who insists that learning is no longer just an internal and independent activity but rather a process of building a social knowledge network with the help of technological tools (Siemens and Conole 2011; Mackey and Evan 2011). Given the theories mentioned above, the theoretical basis of FLT not only concerns linguistics, pedagogy, and psychology, but also involves educational technology and information communication, which focus more on learners’ initiative and technological application. Therefore, when theories of foreign language informatization teaching are constructed, it is necessary to consider the collaborative relationships among multiple disciplines, instructional factors, and educational subjects in the process of foreign language teaching (Golonka et al. 2014).
Integration of information technology into foreign language teaching
The most representative paradigms of foreign language informatization teaching are Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) (Chapelle 2010) and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) (Burston 2014). CALL began in the middle of the 20th century and went through three phases: behavioristic CALL (1960s-1970s), communicative CALL (1980s-1990s) and integrative CALL (21st century) (Ürün 2016; Dudeney and Hockly 2012). The internal driving force for the development of CALL comes from the advancement of information technology, especially from computer technology, web-based multimedia technology, and artificial intelligence technology (Gimeno-Sanz 2016). Integrative CALL involves three main aspects, namely language learning, foreign language teaching, and information technology, which promote the emergence of technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), a new conceptual teaching framework (Harris et al. 2017). On the basis of Shulman’s notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986), TPACK, which offers a productive approach to integrating multidisciplinary knowledge for language teachers, was first presented by Koehler and Mishra (2005). Since the beginning of the 21st century, another influential language teaching paradigm has been Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) supported by information communication technology (ICT) and wireless communication technology (WCT), which was coined by Chinery, who argued that mobile devices are effective pedagogical tools for improving the quality of foreign language learning, as they facilitate alternative nontraditional teaching methods (Chinnery 2006; Kukulska-Hulme 2009). With the help of mobile phones, handhelds, tablet computers, and personal digital assistants, learners can easily access a large amount of authentic language materials and conduct self-directed learning activities anytime and anywhere (Pérez-Paredes and Zhang 2022). Currently, the core technology in foreign language teaching and learning is artificial technology (AI), which can present customized feedback, sophisticated tutoring systems and natural language processing tools for foreign language instructors, but further examination of ethical, cultural and linguistic problems is needed (Hockly 2023; Alshumaimeri and Alshememry 2024). Overall, technological advancements, especially core technologies such as computers and AI, have become the main driving force for promoting foreign language teaching reform, and future development trends will rely mainly on the coordinated operation of various technological tools.
Cutting-edge technologies in foreign language teaching
With the rapid upgrading of technology, several cutting-edge technologies such as chat generative pre-trained transformer (ChatGPT) (Kohnke et al. 2023), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) (Dooly et al. 2023), and holographic technology (Cerezo 2019) have been applied to foreign language teaching, making FLT exhibit personalized, ubiquitous, and immersive characteristics. Since the first release of ChatGPT by Open AI in 2022, it has displayed great merits revolutionizing the domain of education, especially in language teaching and learning (Lund et al. 2023; Yang and Li 2024). Recently, several studies have explored the enormous advantages of ChatGPT in foreign language teaching from different dimensions such as learners’ attitudes and teacher-student relationships (Mohammad 2024; Blanka et al. 2024). Meanwhile, the potential threats of ChatGPT to human ethics and social morality have also aroused extensive concerns (Pack and Maloney 2023; Ciampa et al. 2023). The technologies of VR and holography offer the opportunity for language learners to practice the foreign language that they are learning in a virtual language context, which makes current foreign language teaching more focused on student-centered experiences (Kaplan-Rakowski et al. 2023; Ja’ashan et al. 2024). In addition, eye-tracking, a cutting-edge technology, has been used to record learners’ eye gaze and visual attention for effective feedback data in language education (Latif 2019). Game-informed foreign language teaching and learning, whose purpose is to create a synthetic immersive environment for language learners (Chun 2019), has attracted widespread attention in academia. In other words, the integration of these new technologies into foreign language teaching has changed not only the approaches to language learning and teaching, the strategies of language teaching and assessment, and the ways for teachers and students to communicate in class, but also the innovation of language teaching ideas and theories.
Methodology
Bibliometrics is a branch of informatics that quantitatively analyses patterns in the scientific literature to determine the hotspots and trends of research (Bichen et al. 2023). The Java application of CiteSpace, developed by Professor Chaomei C., has changed the traditional way of analyzing literature, making it more intuitive and aesthetic (Chen 2016). The software of CiteSpace has specific strengths in handling temporal patterns, identifying key research hotspots, and examining the evolution of concepts over time. In this study, CiteSpace 6.3 R1 is used as a tool for visualizing the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching.
Data collection
To analyze the latest hotspots and trends of information technology and foreign language teaching, this study collected literature data (2000-2024) from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database provided by the American Institute for Science Information (ISI). First, a literature search was conducted using the topic words “technology” and “foreign language teaching”, followed by a second search using the topic words “technology” and “English teaching”. The amalgamation of these search results led to the retrieval of the final 8154 records. In the first round of screening, the de-duplication function in CiteSpace screened and excluded 3471 conference proceedings, book chapter, editorial materials, meeting abstract, book review, and duplicate publications. In the second round of screening, 96 irrelevant articles were manually removed. Finally, a total of 4, 587 records were retained as the data source for analysis. The content such as the title, author, abstract and references of all the bibliographic records was exported and then imported into the visualization tool of CiteSpace 6.3 R1.
Data analysis
As the bibliographic records were exported, CiteSpace software was used to provide various mapping knowledge domains, such as keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering timeline, and keyword burst, etc. The research design is presented in Fig. 1. The analysis of publication distribution, core authors, core journals, countries and regions, were made to identify the current research status, The co-occurrence, timeline view and burst of keywords were analyzed to explore the evolution of major themes, and emerging trends. Based on the current research results in this fields, the characteristics and trends of the integrated development of foreign language teaching and information technology are summarized and presented from four aspects: integration ideas, technological media, teaching styles, and learning methods.
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Fig. 1
Research design.
The figure denotes the research framework and analysis process.
Results
This section reports the visualized analyses of research on the integration development of information technology into foreign language teaching, including publication year distribution, keyword co-occurrence, author, journal, timeline view, keyword burst, country, and region.
Distribution of publication year
Figure 2 shows the number of papers published in the WoSCC concerning the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching (2000–2024). From the distribution of publication years, it is seen that there is a clear distinction in the number of publications, showing a trend of rapid development and gradual stability, which can be roughly divided into three stages: 2000–2005, 2006–2019, and 2020–2024. During the initial stage (2000–2005), the annual publication count was relatively low and was always below the average of 10 articles per year. The period from 2006 to 2019 was characterized by rapid growth, during which the number of publications increased every year, except for a slight decline in 2016. The final stage (2020–2024) was characterized by the trend of stable development, with an average of approximately 446 publications per year.
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Fig. 2
The number of publications per year (2000–2024).
The figure, which denotes the number of published papers on IT and FLT, is constructed by a curve chart.
Co-occurrence analysis of high-frequency keywords
Keywords are the core representation of articles and research topics. Keywords co-occurrence analysis is used to reveal the research frontiers and hotspots in a certain domain (Wang and Lu 2020). The parameter settings for the keyword co-occurrence analysis were set to their default values, with the time range spanning from 2000 to 2024, and the nodes represented by the keywords. As shown in Fig. 3, each node represents a keyword, and the size of node represents the frequency of keyword occurrence. The larger the node, the higher the frequency of keyword occurrence (Chen 2006). The nodes “language” and “technology” are the core keywords with two purple rings on the periphery, which indicates a greater number of citations in literature. The nodes “English”, “students” and “education” are also relatively large, exceeding the nodes of most keywords, followed by hot keywords such as “foreign language”, “learners”, “model”, “performance”, “impact”, “online”, “perception” and “motivation”. To gain a better understanding of the keywords above, the values of centrality are computed to identify the keywords that play a central role between two or more articles (Pinto et al. 2009). As shown in Table 1, although the frequency of some keywords such as “learners” and “performance” is high, the centrality values of these keywords are relatively low, only 0.04, which means that they do not have the same intermediating function as other keywords including “knowledge (0.06)”, “instruction (0.06)” and “attitude (0.06)”, etc. Nevertheless, the emergence of the two keywords “learners” and “students” reveals that the integration of information into foreign language teaching is undergoing a paradigm shift, moving from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered approach. This transformation has been facilitated by the rise of multimodal teaching, which leverages various forms of media and technology to create richer, more diverse learning environments. As emphasized by Vanderplank (2010), an effective paradigm for language teaching lies in employing technology to promote social interaction rather than individual student control, monitoring, and repeated practice of their own performances. It is worth noting that central to this shift is the concept of personalization, where instructional methods are increasingly tailored to meet the individual needs, interests, and learning styles of students. Meanwhile, experiential learning has emerged as a critical component of this new paradigm, emphasizing the importance of real-world language practice. By integrating technology into authentic learning experiences, students are encouraged to apply language skills in meaningful contexts, thus promoting both cognitive and affective development.
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Fig. 3
Network of keywords co-occurrence.
The figure denotes the keywords co-occurrence network based on the integration research of IT into FLT (2000-2024).
Table 1. High-frequency keywords related to integration of IT into FLT (2000–2024).
No. | Keywords | Freq. | Centrality | Year | No. | Keywords | Freq. | Centrality | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | technology | 386 | 0.17 | 2002 | 10 | impact | 84 | 0.05 | 2015 |
2 | language | 163 | 0.11 | 2000 | 11 | acquisition | 44 | 0.05 | 2000 |
3 | English | 293 | 0.09 | 2000 | 12 | comprehension | 30 | 0.05 | 2000 |
4 | students | 258 | 0.07 | 2001 | 13 | learners | 117 | 0.04 | 2012 |
5 | education | 228 | 0.07 | 2006 | 14 | performance | 100 | 0.04 | 2009 |
6 | foreign language | 125 | 0.07 | 2009 | 15 | classroom | 73 | 0.04 | 2000 |
7 | instruction | 74 | 0.06 | 2000 | 16 | feedback | 46 | 0.04 | 2001 |
8 | knowledge | 61 | 0.06 | 2007 | 17 | literacy | 26 | 0.04 | 2002 |
9 | attitude | 61 | 0.06 | 2004 | 18 | strategy | 45 | 0.04 | 2004 |
Author co–citation analysis in the integration research
The analysis of author co–citation can be used to find the core authors in the integration research of information into foreign language teaching. The parameter settings are the same as those in the analysis of keyword co-occurrence, except that the node type is “author”. Figure 4 shows that the author with the highest number of citations is Warschauer, M. (211), an American distinguished professor in informatics and language science, who has 11 papers with more than 100 citations. For instance, in the paper “New technology and digital world: Analyzing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes”, Warchauer and Matuchniak (2010) acknowledge the significant advantages of technology in enhancing the quality of foreign language teaching, but also highlights the associated inequalities, based on access to resources and digital literacy. Other core authors that have also contributed greatly to this research domain include Ellis, R. (166), Godwin-Jones, R. (150), Dörnyei, Z. (140), Davis, F. D. (140), Levy, M. (131), Prensky, M. (128), Creswell, J. W. (120), Kukulska-Hulme, A. (116), Lai, C. (108), Vygotsky, L. (103), and Golonka, E. M. (100), etc., whose research fields involve linguistics, educational technology, foreign language teaching, and psycholinguistics. Geographically speaking, these core authors mainly come from countries in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, showing the rich innovative achievements of these countries in this research field. Notably, some of these authors’ papers concerning language teaching technology and mobile language learning, rank high in the reference analysis, which to some extent reflects their core competencies and rich contributions in this research domain (see Table 2). For example, the article “Technologies for foreign language learning: a review of technology types and their effectiveness” by Golonka, E. M. et al. rank first, with a co–citation count of 80 times and a single citation count of 484 times, implying that this article has a great effect on other studies in this domain.
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Fig. 4
Network of author co-citation.
The figure denotes the network of author co-citation in the integration of IT into FLT (2000-2024).
Table 2. The core literature with high citation frequency in integration research.
Articles | Authors | Co–citations | Single citations |
|---|---|---|---|
Technologies for foreign language learning: a review of technology types and their effectiveness | Golonka, E. M. et al. (2014) | 80 | 484 |
Twenty years of MALL project implementation: A meta-analysis of learning outcomes | Burston, J. (2015) | 33 | 202 |
Using the flipped classroom to enhance EFL learning | Hsieh, J. S. C. et al. (2017) | 32 | 236 |
Research trends in mobile-assisted language learning from 2000 to 2012 | Duman, G. (2015) | 30 | 142 |
Analysis of citated journals
The analysis of citated journals is performed to find the core journals that have published many research papers in this field, with a relatively high citation frequency. Table 3 clearly shows the top ten journals with the highest citation counts, which are mainly concentrated in two regions, the USA and England. The journal “Computers & Education” with 926 citations ranks first, followed by Computer–assisted Language Learning (841), Language Learning & Technology (749), System (679), Modern Language Journal (612), British Journal of Educational Technology (558), and ReCALL (542). Most of these journals are classified as technology-related journals, which connected to computer technology. Table 3 clearly shows that the key educational technology journals in England and the USA play a leading role in the integration research of information technology research into foreign language teaching.
Table 3. Journals with high-frequency citations.
No. | Journals | Count | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Computers & Education | 926 | England |
2 | Computer Assisted Language Learning | 841 | USA |
3 | Language Learning & Technology | 749 | USA |
4 | System | 679 | England |
5 | Modern Language Journal | 612 | USA |
6 | British Journal of Educational Technology | 558 | England |
7 | ReCALL | 542 | England |
8 | Educational Technology & Society | 498 | Taiwan |
9 | TESOL Quarterly | 421 | USA |
10 | Computers in Human Behavior | 424 | USA |
Analysis of countries and regions
An analysis of countries and regions contributing to this research field has been conducted. In the parameter settings, the node type is “country” and the other parameters are the same as those in the previous two mapping pictures. The node size indicates the extent to which the country is conducting research in this field. The larger the node is, the richer the research. Figure 5 shows that the relatively large nodes are Russia, the People’s Republic of China, and the USA, followed by Spain, Taiwan, England, Ukraine, Germany, and Turkey, among which the distribution of countries and regions with rich research results in this field is relatively even worldwide. Although the size of node such as Ukraine, Turkey, and Taiwan, is larger than that of most other countries and regions, it does not have the purple ring on the periphery, which indicates that the centrality values of literature related to the research in this field are low and that these documents have not been cited extensively.
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Fig. 5
Network of countries and regions.
The figure denotes the network of countries and regions that contributed more to the integration research of IT into FLT (2000-2024).
Timeline view of the integration research
The timeline view in CiteSpace can reflect the evolution of keywords and their impact on other keywords. In this analysis, the parameter settings are the same as those in the keyword co-occurrence analysis. Figure 6 shows the timeline view of keywords related to the integration research from 2020 to 2024, with 9 clusters of keywords including “learners”, “anxiety”, “user acceptance”, “education”, “tool”, “technology”, “language”, classroom, and “instruction”. The network of clustering keywords involves most of the teaching elements such as teachers, students, teaching tools, and instructional methods, suggesting that the research results in this field are rich and comprehensive. As shown in Fig. 6, except the two clustering keywords (#1 learners, #2 user acceptance, and #4 tool), the other six clustering words all appeared during the process of integration development, and had little impact on other keywords because of the presence of larger nodes on their timelines. Moreover, the beginning emergence of keywords such as “students”, “technology”, “language” and “English” also had a great impact on subsequent research. During the process of the integration development, the emerging themes like “model”, “impact”, and “design” indicate a growing emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning environments. Psychological aspects such as “anxiety”, “motivation”, and “user acceptance” have also gained prominence, addressing how learners adapt to and benefit from new technologies. In recent years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, are revolutionizing foreign language teaching by offering personalized, real-time feedback and dynamic learning experiences (Mohamed 2024). These models can simulate real-world conversations, enabling students to practice speaking and comprehension in a low-pressure environment, which helps reduce psychological anxiety and enhance learning motivation and confidence.
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Fig. 6
Timeline view of clustering keywords.
The figure denotes the timeline of clustering keywords in the integration research (2000-2024).
Keyword burst of the integration research
The analysis of keyword burst focuses on abrupt changes in keyword frequence over time, which is beneficial for providing valuable insights for future research (Diao et al. 2022). The parameter settings are the same as those in the keyword co-occurrence analysis. Figure 7 displays the top 11 burst keywords. “Year” denotes the first occurrence of keywords, whereas “Strength” represents the bust strength value. “Begin” and “End” means the start and end years of the bust period respectively. The red bar visualizes the duration of the bust keywords. The keyword with the highest strength is “foreign language (5.91)”, indicating heated academic attention to foreign language teaching and learning. The keyword “comprehension”, which started to burst in 2000, had the longest duration until 2015, implying its continued impact on later research. It is worth noting that the keyword “integration” has been a hotspot since 2018, with the strength value of 4.56. Moreover, the keywords related to technology such as CALL (4.46) and MALL (4.23), are receiving more attention from academia. The other bursting keywords also reflects the changes in the research field of foreign language teaching research, such as form (4.14), acquisition (3.44), attention (4.7), design (3.55), text (3.51), and trends (3.42).
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Fig. 7
Keywords with the strongest citation bursts.
The figure denotes the top 12 keywords with the strongest citation bursts from the integrated research (2000-2024).
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), having undergone the stages of Behavioristic CALL and Communicative CALL, entered the era of Integrative CALL in the 21st century, facilitated by the advancement of internet technologies. During this period, the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework, proposed by American scholars Mishra and Koehler, significantly facilitated comprehensive reforms in foreign language teaching, particularly in instructional design, resource selection, and assessment methods (Mishra and Koehler 2006; Wang 2022). Notably, Canadian scholar George Siemens introduced the theory of Connectivism in 2005, which provided a theoretical foundation for Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). This theory posits that learning is no longer an internal, isolated activity confined to the individual, but rather a process of forming and navigating social knowledge networks (Shrivasta 2018). In the context of foreign language teaching, Connectivism highlights the importance of personalized learning experiences that are shaped by a learner’s interactions within a diverse network of linguistic, cultural, and technological resources.
Findings and discussion
Three-stage development trend in the integration research
Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a universal consensus in academia that information technology is the fundamental driving force for promoting reform and innovation in foreign language teaching (Arnold 2007; Zhang and Wang 2019; Martyushev et al. 2021). Based on the annal publications from 2000 to 2024, the integration of IT into FLT presents a three-stage development trend (see Fig. 2): the initial stage (2000–2005), the growth stage (2006–2019), and the mature stage (2020–2024).
At the initial stage, CALL underwent a transition from the interactive phase to the integrative phase, during which the language learner tended to take advantage of other technological tools (i.e., Databases, Authoring Systems and Machine Translation) when learning the foreign language rather than visiting the computer lab. (Barr and Gillespie 2004; Jung 2005). Nonetheless, how to effectively integrate the latest technology into foreign language teaching is still under active exploration. As such, few research papers have been published, most of which have highlighted the multimodal practical exploration of combining textbook texts with audio-visual videos, creating a multisensory language learning environment for students (Lam et al. 2001; Suh 2002). In the growth stage, with the proposal of the new teaching concept “CALL” and “MALL” (see Fig. 7), the number of publications on the integration of information technology into foreign language teaching has increased annually until 2019 (see Fig. 2). During this stage, information technology has transformed into a teaching tool for teachers and a cognitive tool for students, as well as an important instructional element in the existing teaching system. Obviously, practice of foreign language teaching against the background of informatization is changing the form of teaching resources, teaching organization, learning activities, and learning evaluation methods. In terms of learning, the rapid development of technology has made learning methods more diverse, such as ubiquitous learning, mobile learning, online learning, self-directed learning, personalized learning, experiential learning, virtual learning, emphasizing the cultivation of students’ active learning awareness and ability (Lai and Gu 2011; Shadiev et al. 2017; Annamalai et al. 2023). At the mature stage, the number of related research papers published each year does not fluctuate significantly (see Fig. 2), but most of them focus on the practical application of cutting-edge technologies in foreign language teaching such as ChatGPT and VR (Mohamed 2024; Dooly et al. 2023). Since 2020, the integration of information technology and foreign language teaching has become increasingly mature, forming a two-way integration trend of online virtual situations and offline real situations, promoting the transformation of teaching time and space, and improving foreign language teaching efficiency.
Overall, the 21st century marks a crucial period for informatization reform in FLT, which is line with Chai et al. (2011) and Seraj et al. (2024), who discuss the rising trend of integrating technology into FLT, aiming to innovate and improve language pedagogy. We further analyze the development over the past two decades and identify distinct phases, particularly the foreign language teaching reforms driven by different cutting-edge technologies such as AI and VR.
The characteristics of integrated ideas, technological media, instructional approaches and learning methods
With respect to the keywords and literature analyzed above, the three stages of integration development display different characteristics in terms of integration ideas, technological media, instructional approaches, and learning methods (see Table 4). First, in terms of integration ideas, the whole process has undergone a shift from auxiliary integration to resource integration and structural integration. The upgrading of these teaching ideas highlights the enormous advantages of information technology and its comprehensive impact on language teaching, which can be observed from the interrelation of keywords such as classroom and impact in the analyses of keyword co-occurrence. Second, despite the mixed use of multiple technologies in foreign language teaching, it is still not difficult to distinguish the prominent teaching media of each stage. The timeline view of clustering keywords reveals that audio-visual media are prominent in the initial stage, interactive media are central in the growth stage, and intelligent media dominate the mature stage. As shown in Fig. 7, certain burst keywords characterized by interactivity, such as CALL and MALL, experienced a gradual decline in research attention around 2020. This, to some extent, reflects a shift in the research focus within the field. In this context, research outcomes in foreign language teaching supported by artificial intelligence technology have been continuously emerging, such as AI-based chatbot (Mohamed 2024), AI-based applications (Du and Gao 2022). Third, owing to technological advancements, the teaching style is also constantly changing and innovating, from computer-aided teaching to multimedia teaching, and intelligent teaching, highlighting the trend of student-centered classroom teaching reform. This transformation is clearly reflected in the keyword burst detection results, which highlight significant terms such as comprehension, form, and acquisition. In this context, most foreign language teachers, who pay more attention to students’ learning experience, are striving to create a technology-based learning environment for students to increase their awareness and ability to engage in self-directed learning (Labonté and Smith 2022). As such, various foreign language teaching models have been proposed, such as the three-element mode with pedagogy, interaction and technology (Wang 2008), the conceptual mode (Xue 2022), and the ecological mode (Wu 2018), which is very beneficial to the construction of a foreign language teaching paradigm based on information technology. Fourth, from the perspective of foreign language learning, the rapid development of technology has led to various characteristics of foreign language learning in the digital age, such as ubiquitous learning, mobile learning, online learning, autonomous learning, virtual learning, and situational learning.
Table 4. Four features in the three development stages.
Stages | Integration ideas | Technological media | Instructional approaches | Learning ways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The initial stage (2000–2005) | Auxiliary integration | Audio-visual media | Computer-aided teaching | Independent learning |
The growth stage (2006–2019) | Recourse integration | Interactive media | Multimedia teaching | Collaborative learning |
The mature stage (2020–2024) | Structural integration | Intelligent media | Intelligent teaching | Personalized learning |
Overall, these diverse learning characteristics can be classified into three learning methods, namely independent learning based on audio–visual materials, collaborative learning based on information networks, and personalized learning based on intelligent technology. The timeline view of clustering keywords shows how these keywords are interconnected, offering valuable insights into the development of foreign language teaching based on information technology. In the future, research on the integration of information technology and foreign languages will become more refined and systematic, highlighting the learning–centered teaching reform and intelligent analysis of personalized learning data (Bremner 2019; Du and Gao 2022), which will fundamentally change the forms of teaching resources, ways of teaching and learning, and modes of evaluation.
The focus of integration development in the era of artificial intelligence
Currently, information technology has begun to be fully integrated into foreign language teaching, influencing various instructional elements such as classroom structure, teaching resources, and teaching evaluation (Moorhouse et al. 2023). The application of high–level and new technology such as big data, 5G communication, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, provides access to rich and accurate digital teaching resources for foreign language teachers and learners. Authentic digital materials can be directly obtained online and integrated into course content, or resource centers, becoming an inexhaustible source of information in foreign language teaching and learning (Ürün 2016; Meniado 2023). The subject teaching knowledge of integrated technology (TPACK) has gradually become a key element in measuring the effectiveness of technology acceptance in language teaching (Tseng et al. 2022). Obviously, the integration of foreign language teaching and information technology is not a simple superposition of the two but rather a complex dynamic system. In the future, information technology, as a cognitive tool, is changing the means and methods of transmitting teaching information, affecting the construction of teaching resources, the creation of teaching environments, and the interaction between teaching elements (Chun et al. 2016). Information technology has become the fundamental driving force for the development of foreign language teaching, whether it is the construction of teaching modes, the innovation of learning methods, the application of new technological media, or the exploration of information education theory. Recently, Studies like Valero-Franco & Berns (2024) and Armut & Kara (2024) have utilized cutting-edge technologies to implement foreign language teaching, such as using augmented reality technology to increase students’ motivation and interest in language learning, and using eye tracking technology to monitor learners’ learning state and learning efficiency. However, some scholars like Rosen (2013) points that the constant presence of social media leads to task-switching, which negatively impact foreign language learning. Our analysis reveals that a balanced approach that combines technology with psychological factors promotes a more comprehensive foreign language learning experience.
Overall, the integration and development of foreign language teaching and information technology have gone through changes from visual and auditory technology to the combination of visual and auditory technology, and then to the comprehensive application of multimedia technology (Zhang and Zhang 2024). With the rapid development of science and technology, how to use high-tech products to further construct simulated and realistic foreign language learning scenarios, allowing students to experience an “immersive” language learning atmosphere, is the focus of foreign language information technology teaching practices. Cutting-edge technologies have provided a broader integration space for the informatization development of foreign language teaching in the era of digital networks. More importantly, the intervention of intelligent technology makes the division of labor between humans and machines more reasonable, allowing teachers to have ample energy to focus on cultivating the higher–order thinking abilities of language learners. In foreign language teaching, there will be a shift from teaching activities that involve only simple low-level thinking such as listening, watching, repeating, and copying, to higher-order thinking activities characterized by thinking, creativity, and imagination (Petek and Bedir 2018).
Conclusion
This article uses CiteSpace software to visually analyze the relevant literature on the integration and development of information technology and foreign language teaching over the past 24 years. The integration of foreign language teaching and information technology has gone through three stages of development: the initial stage marked by CALL (2000-2005); the growth stage marked by multimedia teaching and MALL (2006-2019); and mature stage, marked by virtual teaching, online teaching and intelligent teaching or smart teaching (2020-2024). The integration ideas have evolved from information technology assistance to resource integration and utilization, as well as to more comprehensive and deeper forms of integration; Technological media have progressed from simple audio-visual tools to digital interactive platforms and, more recently, AI-enhanced media; The instructional approaches have gradually shifted from computer-aided teaching to multimedia teaching and intelligent teaching; The learning methods have moved from emphasizing self-directed training toward encouraging teacher-student interaction and situational experience. Overall, the research appears to have transitioned from a focus on basic technological applications to a more nuanced understanding of learners’ needs, system design, and outcome evaluation. This reflects an increasing emphasis on creating more personalized, effective, and engaging foreign language learning experiences supported by technology. Therefore, the future integration and development of foreign language teaching and information technology may continue to be shaped by artificial intelligence technology. These AI-enhanced tools have the potential to transform teaching resources, instructional approaches, and evaluation methods. AI-driven platforms could support more personalized foreign language teaching, allowing for real-time adjustments to lesson content based on learners’ needs, learning styles, and progress. Therefore, data-driven teaching environments could play an increasingly important role in facilitating individualized learning experiences, prompting the diversified development of research theoretical perspectives, such as self-determination theory (Shi and Zhang 2025), control-value of achievement emotions (Kaiqi and Kutuk 2024). Notably, immersive technologies such as VR and AR may offer interactive environments in which learners can practice languages in realistic, context-rich scenarios. Correspondingly, evaluation of foreign language teaching effectiveness is likely to expand beyond academic performance to place greater weight on learners’ personalized experiences and psychological factors, including motivation, self-efficacy, and socio-emotional development.
In future research, two influential theories are expected to significantly shape the development of technology-enhanced foreign language teaching. Connectivism, proposed by Siemens (2011), conceptualizes learning as the process of forming connections among diverse nodes—such as individuals, organizations, libraries, websites, books, and databases—thereby constructing a dynamic network of knowledge. Multimodal Theory, advanced by Kress and Leeuwen (2001), emphasizes the integration of multiple semiotic resources and tools by teachers to enrich students’ multisensory experiences, ultimately facilitating deeper comprehension and engagement with knowledge. As such, greater attention may be given to exploring the intrinsic principles of pedagogical development, innovative approaches to constructing technology-enhanced teaching environments, and the use of data to support teaching practice (Hockly and Dudeney 2018; Ma et al. 2024). The establishment of a more systematic theoretical framework for the integration of foreign language teaching and information technology could be viewed not only as a reflection of the increasing maturity of current practices, but also as a possible driver for innovation in the field (Kessler 2018). Such efforts may continue to influence the reform of technology-supported foreign language teaching in meaningful ways.
Implication and limitation
This study has both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, on one hand, this study offers extended theoretical knowledge for exploring the research hotspots, instructional characteristics and development trends in the integration of IT into FLT, which is conducive to improving foreign language informatization teaching theory. On the other hand, this study identifies theoretical constructs that guide research in the field, such as technology-mediated language acquisition and the role of interactive and personalized learning environments. These constructs help refine existing language teaching theories by incorporating the influence of digital tools and platforms. Practically, as seen from the results, more emphasis is likely to be placed on the application of new technology-based products and learners’ individual differences in learning language, revealing the tendency toward personalized teaching supported by technologies. The visualized analyses in this study have presented various bibliometric details related to the integration of IT into FLT, which may provide valuable insights into facilitating and mediating foreign language teaching. This implies that the advancement of information technology can meet the different needs and expectations of language learners, which also could guide foreign language teachers and education policy makers in adapting personalization teaching strategies.
Although the findings of this study provide visual data support for the research hotspots and trends in the development of the integration of IT into FLT, three limitations should be acknowledged. First, the database scope is relatively narrow, as the analysis relies solely on the WoSCC, which could potentially limit the comprehensiveness of the findings. Second, the time span examined in this study is restricted to the most recent 24 years, which may not fully reflect the historical development of technology integration into foreign language teaching. Third, the bibliometric method itself, while effective for mapping large-scale research trends, does not allow for in-depth qualitative interpretation of the content of individual studies. Further research may be conducted to analyze the integration process in detail.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Research Start-up Fund for High-level Talents of Taizhou University (TZXYQD2024A014).
Author contributions
Li Weilai contributed to the design of the study, and wrote the main manuscript text. Li Bingqing prepared the data and figures. Both authors reviewed the manuscript.
Data availability
The Web of Science database was used to retrieve the necessary data for this research. Hence, the data may be accessed using the same search query and filters that were used in this study. However, the data can also be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.
Informed consent
This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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