Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI in Iranian Language Education Research: A Scoping Review

This scoping review systematically maps 48 empirical studies from Iranian academic journals in order to explore the integration of AI and GenAI in language education. The methodology involved systematically searching digital archives of prominent Iranian universities using AI-related keywords, followed by PRISMA-guided screening and eligibility assessment. The analysis suggests that research is dominated by EFL contexts at the tertiary level, with a strong focus on tools such as ChatGPT for the purpose of enhancing writing and providing automated feedback. Distinctively, Iranian scholarship presents a "validation-first" approach, often comparing AI performance against human benchmarks, while also demonstrating a significant "affective turn" into teacher anxiety, motivation, and technostress. Constructing a necessary, critical, and human-centered perspective to global discourse, this field is characterized by theoretical fragmentation and technological monoculture leaning on international tools. This review further identifies gaps in the research on Persian language learning, K-12 education, and critical AI literacy, therefore pointing toward likely avenues for a more mature, context-sensitive pedagogical science in Iran.