WHEN NEUROPEDAGOGY MEETS GENERATIVE AI: RETHINKING RESEARCH IN LANGUAGE DIDACTICS

Abstract

As generative artificial intelligence enters research practices in language didactics, it does not merely add new technical tools; it alters the conditions under which knowledge is produced, interpreted, and circulated. This article examines the encounter between neuropedagogy and generative AI in order to clarify the epistemological, methodological, and ethical questions raised by this convergence. The discussion first revisits the contribution of neuropedagogy to the understanding of language learning processes, especially cognitive load, attention, memory, and learner variability. It then analyses the limits of generative AI when it models complex cognitive activity through probabilistic approximation, without direct access to the biological, affective, and contextual dimensions of learning. Particular attention is paid to the changing role of the researcher, who increasingly operates at the intersection of neurocognitive evidence, algorithmic mediation, and interpretive responsibility. The article argues that the productive articulation of these two fields requires neither technological enthusiasm nor disciplinary withdrawal, but a critical and responsible framework capable of preserving contextual interpretation, scientific accountability, and methodological discernment. From this perspective, generative AI and neuropedagogy may contribute to research in language didactics only if their uses remain explicitly situated, theoretically grounded, and ethically supervised.