CHARLES HALL
Charles Hall is an Applied Linguist at Alfaisal University in Riyadh. Formerly at the University of Memphis, he has taught across fifty-one countries, guiding professionals from surgeons to engineers in specialized English communication. Striving for intercultural tact and curriculum innovation, Hall now explores how artificial intelligence can serve as a co-teacher. His research uses AI in joyful and creative ways to enrich both teachers and learners, embedding prompts into syllabi that foster clarity, empathy, and the belief that education can tilt the world toward greater understanding.
Digital Griots, Digital Gewel: AI, English, and the River of Voices
Artificial intelligence [AI] must now be at the center of language education; according, let’s explore how teachers and learners can act as “digital” griots or gewel who use AI to amplify their voices. AI is presented as the new drum or harp—an instrument that extends human creativity—while English serves as the necessary bridge that allows AI’s outputs to be shared internationally.
Through metaphors, refrains, and participatory gestures, the session demonstrates how AI can transform classrooms into spaces of creativity and collaboration. Practical activities—AI‑assisted story circles, praise poems, vocabulary refrains, and writing prompts—will be showcased as tools teachers can implement immediately. Audience members will join in echoes and claps, embodying the joy of learning together. By the end, participants will leave with strategies for tomorrow’s classroom and a renewed vision of AI as a companion that amplifies heritage, connects voices, and makes English a tool of global encounter.
IESPTA 