Teachers’ use of generative AI: a ‘dirty little secret’?

Abstract

Emerging scholarly work has illuminated ways in which generative AI can be used to enhance language learning and teaching. Given that much of the existing research has been conceptual, there has been limited empirical research exploring teachers’ perceptions and uses of generative AI in language classrooms. In light of current debates about the benefits, drawbacks and ethical dilemmas associated with generative AI, this article examines how teachers negotiate their unique teaching contexts to make pedagogical decisions about the responsible use of AI. Drawing upon the concepts of entangled pedagogy and agency, we interrogated interview data generated from ten English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Australia. The data revealed that while the participating teachers recognised the potential benefits of generative AI for language learning, there were concerns regarding when, where and how it should be used. As a result, while teachers acknowledged the contributions of generative AI for learning and teaching purposes and their sense of agency to utilise such technology, they deliberately chose to conceal their use of generative AI due to relational and contextual factors that framed its use as a threat to the integrity of both language learning and teaching.