DIGITAL PHANTASIA AND THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION IN AI-MEDIATED LANGUAGE LEARNING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH
DIGITAL PHANTASIA AND THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION IN AI-MEDIATED LANGUAGE LEARNING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on phantasia and creative imagination in the process of foreign language acquisition. It investigates the role of digital imagination as a mediating force both in English and in French learning, analysing how AI tools such as ChatGPT transform the learner’s capacity for projection, association and intercultural interpretation. Drawing on philosophical traditions of phantasia (Plato, Aristotle, Husserl, Richir) and integrating them with cognitive and sociocultural theories of learning (Vygotsky, Krashen, Long), the research redefines imagination as a technologically co-constructed phenomenon. A mixed-methods study conducted with Romanian secondary school learners from ″Radu cel Mare‶ Secondary School (English and French groups) reveals measurable linguistic progress and enhanced creative engagement when AI is used as a dialogic partner. The comparative analysis demonstrates that while English learners benefit from richer digital corpora, French learners develop stronger grammatical awareness through reflective use of AI prompts. The paper proposes the concept of digital phantasia to capture how AI mediates between representation, creativity and self-projection, reshaping both pedagogical interaction and cultural identity formation.

• Details
• Contents