The Future Tense: What’s Left for Human Language Learners?
Harrison Memorial Library
Fireside Chats at the Library - Harrison Memorial Library
Reading Room
The Carmel Public Library Foundation presents The Power of
Language
The Future Tense: What’s Left for Human Language
Learners?
with Professor Gabriel Guillén, Middlebury Institute of
International Studies
With AI translating speech in real time, why learn another
language at all? In this fireside chat, we’ll challenge
assumptions and explore urgent questions: What does it mean to
learn a language in the age of AI? Can machines teach us empathy,
intercultural competence, or the skills to connect across
differences? And in a world shaped by climate migration and
global instability, what roles do human language learners still
play? Join us for a conversation on the future of language
education, for formal and informal learners alike, and whether
it’s time to let go, double down, or reimagine it altogether.
Gabriel Guillén is a professor at Middlebury Institute of
International Studies whose work has significantly shaped the
integration of technology and intercultural understanding in
language learning. He founded the first-ever community of
language exchange blogs, launched Team Tandem to bridge Spanish
and English learners, and co-authored Brave New Digital Classroom
(2020), a seminal work on digital language education. A recipient
of the prestigious AECID Spanish Lectureship and multiple
teaching honors, he continues to lead curriculum innovation in
language education.