Innovation in Language Learning

In recent years, the use of AI and chatbots in language learning has expanded quickly and various studies have been conducted on their impacts on learner motivation. However, classroom-based applications created by teachers remain underrepresented, especially in the context of Italian L2 instruction. This paper presents a personal experience in which the author designed and implemented a chatbot using the Mizou platform to simulate a historical character (Giuseppe Garibaldi), with the aim of reinforcing the use of Italian past tenses (passato remoto, prossimo and imperfetto) in an Italian L2 university class. Rather than using AI to generate content, this contribution reflects on fully teacher-created activities, which leverage the conversational power of AI to build engaging, contextualized tasks even with minimal resources. The created activity surprisingly highlighted how the use of AI in class can affect the general learner motivation, offering students a low-pressure, semi-authentic environment for practicing narrative past tenses. The experience illustrates the creative potential of generative AI platforms – not as lesson designers, but as tools teachers can manipulate to build interactive communicative resources. It also offers practical suggestions for lesson planning and emphasizes the importance of digital competencies.