AI-Enabled multilingual pedagogies in Ghanaian higher education:A conceptual analysis of emerging affordances

Higher education in Ghana operates within a complex multilingual landscape with diverse linguistic repertoires of students. Despite this linguistic reality, the English language remains the dominant medium of instruction. This monolingual approach is found to constrain students' intellectual and psychological development and limit their participation in class. The article examines the potential use of both visible and non-visible AI affordances to support multilingual instruction in Ghanaian higher institutions of learning. Drawing on affordance and translanguaging theories, the article proposes ways in which AI-driven tools can shape pedagogical practices in a linguistically diverse classroom. Further, the article argues that utilising AI’s affordances is essential for transforming current monolingual classrooms into more linguistically diverse spaces where every learner’s intellectual capabilities are harnessed towards an inclusive and equitable university education. Finally, the article highlights the implications of the study for policy, practice, and future research on multilingual-responsive and AI-mediated teaching and learning in African higher institutions.