LINGUODIDACTIC INTERPRETATION OF THE DIGITAL RESIDENT LEARNER PROFILE: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, VERIFICATION, AND ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

This article examines the linguodidactic limitations of characterising learners who grow up in digital environments solely in terms of the frequency of technology use or generational affiliation. The study aims to conceptually delimit and operationalise the profile of the “digital resident learner” for English language education, particularly in contexts where artificial intelligence is used to support productive language activities such as writing and speaking. Drawing on conceptual analysis, comparative-theoretical synthesis, and functional modelling, the study compares the “digital native” thesis, the Visitors and Residents continuum, digital agency, digital citizenship, AI competency frameworks, and the action- oriented perspective of the CEFR. As a result, six interrelated components of the digital resident learner profile are identified: purposeful digital agency; information and source verification; critical engagement with artificial intelligence; authorship and academic integrity; reflective-communicative self-regulation; and digital citizenship and responsibility. The proposed profile does not equate technological activity with competence. Instead, it foregrounds the learner’s capacity to select digital tools and AI-generated outputs purposefully, verify them, accept or reject recommendations on reasoned grounds, revise their own language products, and preserve authorial agency in the final product. The proposed theoretical model provides a structured set of criteria for task design, reflective assessment, and responsible AI-supported practice in English language teaching.