EXPLORING THE POTENTIALS OF AI IN ENHANCING TEACHERS’ ENGLISH COMPETENCY: COMPARATIVE LESSONS FROM RWANDA, SOUTH AFRICA AND SOUTH KOREA

In 2008, Rwanda shifted the Language of Instruction (LoI) in schools from French to English, aiming to enhance educational outcomes and global competitiveness. However, despite the policy’s significance and potential, it has yielded limited results, with less than 5% of practicing teachers possessing intermediate to advanced English proficiency. This language gap undermines instructional quality and language transmission, thereby necessitating an innovative, evidence-informed policy response. Recent technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) offer avenues for addressing challenges such as these. This study comparatively examines the national AI ecosystems of Rwanda, South Africa, and South Korea to identify the structural and institutional conditions shaping AI adoption. The comparative case study approach analyses policy orientation, governance structure, infrastructural and institutional readiness, AI integration within the education systems, and equity and accessibility measures of the three countries. Thereafter, South Africa and South Korea are used as reference cases for assessing the feasibility and transferability of AI approaches to English proficiency challenges in Rwanda. Drawing on qualitative analysis of data from policy documents and related scholarship, the study explores the factors influencing AI implementation in the three countries and concludes by outlining policy transfer lessons to inform the design of a feasible AI-supported approach to enhance English proficiency among Rwandan teachers.