Opportunities, Benefits, and Challenges of Using Artificial Intelligence in the Teaching and Learning of IsiXhosa Poetry

IsiXhosa poetry holds significant potential for cultivating critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. However, its pedagogical implementation is often hindered by reliance on rote learning and lecture-based instruction, which restricts the higher-order cognitive engagement required for interpreting poetry. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) provides a useful framework for analysing this pedagogical tension by viewing teaching and learning as mediated activity systems involving subjects (students and educators), tools (instructional technologies), rules, community, and division of labour. Guided by CHAT, this study investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) can function as a mediating tool within the isiXhosa poetry learning activity system, identifying its opportunities, benefits, and contradictions. A systematic literature review synthesised global scholarship on AI in education, higher education, and language education to identify AI tools that could be integrated into isiXhosa poetry pedagogy. Studies were analysed through the lens of CHAT to evaluate the transformative potential and systemic tensions arising from AI adoption. The study provides a framework for selecting and integrating AI tools in isiXhosa poetry instruction, and it offers evidence-based recommendations for educators and policymakers to support the responsible adoption of AI in African-language literature education.