The influence of Artificial Intelligence on English Language Teachers’ Professional Identity Development at Tertiary Education Level

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly taking new heights in the field of technology. The impact of technology integration on the language pedagogy is also meaningful. From the lens of teaching and learning the provision of Artificial Intelligence has paved the way forward for more technology integrated learning. This study explores the influence that AI holds on the English language teachers’ identity development and their institutional and sociocultural context. The study focuses on the ELT engagement with the help of Artificial Intelligence. This study is qualitative in nature. Convenient sampling was used to collect the data from (n=08) participants which were interviewed and analyzed through thematic analysis. Major Findings suggest that teachers role have greatly shifted from monetized classroom teacher to facilitator and their professional identity have been greatly influenced by the use of AI which have impacted positively in their confidence as well. Some teachers go extra mile to be AI competent by opting self-paced trainings for AI tools. The institutes, colleagues, fellow teachers also contribute in the trainings for the use of AI. One minor finding suggest that the teachers are naive believers towards AI which makes them overly relying on it for tasks such as assignment feedback. The teachers today see their imagined self as future trainers for AI tools to other fellow teachers.