Pearson English Language Learning is dedicated to helping educators, HR professionals, test takers, learners and parents on every step of the learning journey. It works with more than 6,000 teaching experts around the world to help fast-track English language learning.
Sharon Hague, President of Pearson English Language Learning, discusses AI in education, personalised learning and the different ways people learn across the globe.
What are the most promising applications of AI in education today?
When it comes to education, great tech on its own isn’t enough. The best uses of AI are built on learning science, trusted content and a real understanding of how people learn.
Ask any teacher, and they’ll tell you that time is the one thing they never have enough of. That’s where AI is starting to help. In K–12, teachers are using it to save time on everyday tasks like building assessments. What used to take over an hour can now take less than 10 minutes. That gives them more space to focus on what really matters: their students.
In higher education, students want a study coach who’s there in the moment — when they’re stuck on a topic, revising late at night or getting ready for an exam. So, we’ve built AI into our digital textbooks to give them personalised summaries, practice questions and clear explanations. From what they’re telling us, it’s helping them feel more confident and better prepared, especially during high-pressure times like midterms and finals.
The data and insights from these tools are helping us to understand more about how students learn. For example, a third of the prompts students enter into our higher education AI tools show high cognitive complexity, which is a sign of critical thinking and deeper learning. It makes me optimistic about the outcomes AI could help deliver for students in the years ahead.
How has AI transformed traditional teaching methods?
One of the biggest shifts I’m seeing is how AI is helping us move past one-size-fits-all teaching to greater personalisation.
It’s helping learners stay engaged by supporting the way they learn best, whether that’s visually, through audio or by interacting directly with the material. In language learning, that might mean pronunciation coaching for one student and a conversational agent for another. And it also brings flexibility in where learning happens, and that could be at home, at school, on an app — or a combination of all three. That level of personalisation just hasn’t been possible until now.
And we’re already seeing it work in classrooms. Teachers are using AI to expand what they can offer, whether that’s generating activities, sourcing materials, planning lessons or creating tools like flashcards and quizzes.
It’s also changing how students study. We’ve seen that learners using AI-powered flashcards are nearly three times more likely to return and practise. That’s a real shift away from cramming and toward more confident, active learning.
How can AI support personalised learning without replacing human educators?
Speaking as a former teacher, I’ve always believed that AI should work with educators, not replace them. It can’t replicate the empathy, encouragement or judgement that teachers bring to the classroom. What it can do is take some of the pressure off, by handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks and giving teachers more time to focus on students.
It can also give teachers sharper insights into how each learner is progressing — where they’re strong, where they’re struggling and how best to support them. That kind of personalised support, at scale, is hard to do without the right tools.
I see real potential for AI tools to help teachers, and our studies show they agree. In fact, 77% say they see value in using AI to enhance their teaching, whether through tutoring, content creation or study support.
Which area are you seeing the most changes with regards to education – school, universities or workplace learning?
We’re seeing major shifts across all three, but perhaps the most urgent transformation is in the workplace. Demographic change and AI are reshaping jobs faster than ever. Hiring alone is not going to solve everything. We’ve got to focus on training and re-skilling at the same time.
The future workforce will see humans and digital agents working side by side. That’s going to require a whole new set of skills — not just for workers, but for managers and leaders too.
We’re helping workforces build language proficiency and soft skills with products like the Digital Language Tutor, which combines English learning with professional roleplays that mirror real-life work situations, such as conducting a performance review or introducing yourself at a conference.
And the need is only growing — by 2030, 65% of the skills required for jobs will have changed. Helping people keep up with that pace is one of the most important challenges we face.
How do you keep up with ever-changing technology?
Honestly, it takes work. I read widely, listen to podcasts and rely on the brilliant people around me. The pace of change means there’s always more to learn, and I try to stay curious.
We’re serious at Pearson about helping learners succeed in a fast-changing world. That’s why we’re investing in research and development and partnering with leading tech companies like Microsoft, Google and AWS. Today, over 80% of our products are digital or digitally enabled, but it’s not just about building technology. It’s about making sure that technology works for real learners and is underpinned by learning science.
That matters even more in places like the Middle East, where education systems are evolving quickly. We’ve seen how important it is to strike the right balance between global consistency and local relevance, building solutions that feel tailored to each context.
A big part of keeping pace is helping people build the skill of learning itself. In a world where careers are constantly changing, ‘learning to learn’ is becoming a real superpower. It’s something we’re championing more and more — in schools, in training and in the workplace. The research supports that too, showing that teaching learning skills can accelerate progress by up to seven months in just one year.
Are there many differences in the way people learn in different countries?
Yes, but what’s consistent is the commitment teachers show in the classroom. Many of the challenges they face, like motivating students and keeping them engaged, are also the same wherever you go. That said, approaches to learning can look quite different depending on culture, language and economic context — and how each education system is set up.
In the Middle East, for example, there’s been a strong focus historically on memorisation and exam performance. But that’s changing. The UAE is now championing innovation and bringing more practical skills into classrooms. In Saudi Arabia, we’re seeing real momentum around digital literacy, critical thinking and lifelong learning, especially through international collaboration.
Language plays a big part, especially when it comes to English learning. A learner’s first language can influence everything from pronunciation to the pace at which they progress. That’s where Pearson’s Global Scale of English (GSE) comes in. It gives teachers a clear and flexible way to set personalised learning goals, adapt lessons to each learner’s needs and show progress in a way that feels motivating. Policymakers around the world are also increasingly sharing best practice, and we’re doing the same. It’s helping the whole sector learn faster from each other.
What matters most is designing solutions that work in context. Being global doesn’t help if it doesn’t work in-country.
Does AI improve student outcomes across diverse socioeconomic groups?
There are encouraging signs it could, and for me, that’s one of the most exciting parts of this transformation. Personalised, AI-driven tools can help level the playing field for learners who might otherwise be left behind.
That said, access matters. AI only acts as an equaliser when the tools and infrastructure are available to all students. That’s why we design AI-powered tools to be flexible, culturally respectful and relevant across a wide range of learning environments. With the right design and intentional distribution, AI can help bridge learning gaps and support better outcomes for more students.
Personalisation is also critical for equity. I’m particularly excited about AI’s potential to support learners with additional needs. It allows children with different types of learning needs to access more content, in more ways and ultimately to have a better learning experience.
We’re already seeing this play out in places like the UAE, where AI is embedded into the education system as early as kindergarten. National strategies are prioritising AI fluency and global competitiveness — and the country now ranks third in the world for attracting AI talent.
At the heart of it, we just want to help every learner achieve better outcomes, no matter where they start from.
