Emerging trends in CALL in the age of GenAI: review of the 2025 ChinaCALL conference

Abstract This paper discusses emerging trends in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), drawing on insights from the 2025 ChinaCALL conference. It starts with a summary of the main content from the pre-conference workshops, keynote and invited speeches, concurrent sessions, and the innovative educational product showcase, covering areas such as AI-supported pedagogy, assessment, translation, and teacher development. Then three major trends were identified from the conference presentations, and their implications were discussed: (1) the sociolinguistic turn in CALL, with an emphasis on digital interaction, identity, and well-being; (2) the expansion of virtual exchange (VE) into multidisciplinary and inclusive education; and (3) the critical, reflective adoption of GenAI in teaching and professional development.