The article is aimed at the analysis and classification of the main stages of digitalization of language education in the world. The use of computer technology in teaching foreign languages began more than 80 years ago. Until recently, this topic was the subject of discussion of a rather narrow circle of specialists, but with the onset of the digital era and the rapid development of mobile and cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, more and more foreign language teachers in our country and abroad are introducing open educational resources into the educational process and applications, design distance courses and massive open online courses for teaching foreign languages. At the moment, there is an urgent need to analyze the stages of implementing computer technologies in teaching foreign languages and to identify some methodological features of the organization of the educational process supported by ICT, namely: the dominant method of learning, some didactic potential of the latest technologies, the role of the student and teacher, etc. Five main stages of the digitalization of language education were identified, which were named in accordance with the dominant teaching method: behavioral, audial, integrative, social-communicative, task-based communicative. The article also discusses the types of learning that have appeared due to digital technologies, such as mobile, social learning, learning based on augmented and virtual reality technologies — immersive learning. Particular attention is paid to the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence — deep learning, chat-bot learning, robotic learning of foreign languages.