Inspiring Innovation: Insights for Adopting Genai in English Language Courses

Rachel Toncelli and Ilka Kostka, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Introduction

When we arrived at the 2024 TESOL International Convention in Tampa, Florida, we quickly realized that one particular topic was generating a lot of excitement from attendees. When we tried to attend sessions on this topic, we were surprised to see that conference rooms were so packed that we could not even get in. If you also attended the Convention, you could guess that we are referring to artificial intelligence (AI). While many might say that AI is a trend or a buzzword, we cannot deny that rapid developments in AI have already significantly affected English language teaching (ELT). We are in a movement of tremendous disruption and change, which is both exciting and daunting.

In late 2022, we both learned of ChatGPT in similar ways. Ilka was in a meeting with a colleague at another institution who showed her what ChatGPT was and how it could generate an academic paper in seconds. Around the same time, Rachel was talking to her teenage son who showed her how quickly ChatGPT could generate almost any kind of text in response to a simple prompt. We realized that we needed to better understand both what ChatGPT could do and whether students also knew about it, sowe began talking to students about ChatGPT in the spring semester. We found that the majority of students in our two courses had either heard of it or already had an account, which to us was not entirely surprising.

In the fall 2023 semester, we decided to conduct a more formal study of ChatGPT use in our pathways programs with other instructors. We wanted to better understand students’ use of and attitudes towards AI. We received institutional permission to implement focus activities across five courses and distribute an anonymous electronic survey about their ChatGPT use. Students indicated that while the majority of them had accounts (i.e., 68%), they felt excited yet concerned about how ChatGPT and AI more generally would impact their learning. In spring 2024, we then decided to focus our research on instructors. We thought that if we could develop a framework for “teaching teachers,” they would in turn be able to support students and better contribute to conversations in the field about AI’s impact on ELT. All of these projects led to a valuable collaboration that inspired us and developed our subject matter knowledge as scholar-practitioners.

Experimenting with AI tools in instruction

Our pathway from initial exploratory activities using generative AI in our classes to more formal classroom research allowed us to learn alongside our students. As educators, we are accustomed to having a sense of confidence in our pedagogical approaches, yet the sudden disruption caused by generative AI required us to navigate new educational terrain while also helping our students do the same. Because we were not experts on AI, we looked for opportunities to upskill. In the spring of 2023, we read articles, blog posts, and teaching ideas published by educators and AI scholars. Nevertheless, these readings included a range of opinions; some authors believed that we were approaching the end of the teaching profession while others highlighted the dawn of a new age in education. At that time, we realized that because our students were already using ChatGPT, we would have transparent discussions with them about their use while also experimenting with ChatGPT and other AI platforms to help us plan for teaching.

To do so, we needed to quickly develop non-technical expertise, including building a lexicon for GenAI and how large language models produce text. In addition to learning about how GenAI works, we reflected on what all these developments in AI could mean for our profession and our students. Early on, we decided to begin exploring the pros and cons of ChatGPT as a tool in education with our students, and their perspectives were instrumental to shaping our understanding of the importance of using AI in class to foster students’ critical awareness of its pros and cons. We wanted students to feel safe and comfortable discussing their uses of GenAI with us so we could collectively understand its implications for our courses.

During our first classroom explorations, we were curious about the ways in which ChaptGPT could enhance teaching and learning as well as our students’ opinions of ChatGPT (Kostka & Toncelli, 2023). Our initial activities using ChatGPT in class built upon topics we had been already discussing with our students, such as persuasive argumentation and presentation skills, as a foundation for critically analyzing ChatGPT output. Specifically, in an undergraduate public speaking course, students used ChatGPT to generate debate constructives and then analyzed the output using their knowledge of Aristotle's persuasive argumentation (i.e., ethos, pathos, and logos). In a graduate-level course on listening and speaking, students were asked to develop and present a Venn diagram comparing their knowledge of academic presentation skills to ChatGPT output on this topic. In each of these activities, we noted that students were engaged by the use of ChatGPT in class, and they were quite eager to critique its output (Kostka & Toncelli, 2023).

When we surveyed students about their experience using ChatGPT in these in-class activities, we recognized that they had a keen sense of the support that AI could offer them, as well as the risks of abusing it to circumvent the learning process. For example, one student captured this nuanced understanding by recognizing that “[ChatGPT] as an assistant which helps us with some learning, I think it is effective. However, if this tool helps us to complete our homework and deprives us of our thinking times, I think it is not effective and brings negative influences.” Our students appreciated the opportunity to talk about AI in class with us, with one commenting on the importance of “giv[ing] students head up about the Artificial intelligence. Let them know that they could not fully rely on AI.” Many students also recognized the importance of critiquing AI output and “using it carefully and consciously since some answers could be wrong or fake.” These conversations with students solidified our commitment to engaging in transparent conversations about AI with them.

From these initial explorations, we felt more confident in our ability to develop a pathway forward. First, we recognized the power of co-planning to leverage shared expertise as we cautiously yet curiously considered the ways in which AI could foster opportunities for critical thinking in our classrooms. After our first classroom activities with students, we gathered student reactions and considered how these could inform subsequent AI integration. By collaboratively considering the applications of AI tools in our classes, we benefited from a professional partnership that permitted open discussion on the real challenges and the innovative opportunities of teaching and learning in an AI-enhanced world. This dialogue fueled subsequent in-class experimentation. Thus the process we used to begin became our blueprint for continuing to develop expertise and critically explore generative AI tools in ELT, which resulted in us winning the 2024 Ron Chang Lee Award for Excellence in Classroom Technology.

Through a cyclical process of experimentation, dialogue, reflection, and revision, we developed as a professional community of scholar-practitioners. This community allowed us to more boldly experiment, compare findings, and navigate challenges. Indeed, this blueprint continues to guide our research and teaching as we seek to deepen our own critical AI literacy and that of our students. Since the initial steps we took in spring of 2023, we have widened our circle of professional collaborators to engage in ongoing research.

Advice for teachers & teacher educators

We both realize that there is still so much more to learn about the impact of GenAI on English language teaching. We continue to understand this impact by conducting research, talking to instructors in the U.S. and abroad in presentations, workshops, and webinars, co-planning lessons and exchanging ideas, experimenting in our classes, and reflecting on teaching. In this section, we draw from our collaborative process to offer suggestions based on what we have learned so far.

1) Seek opportunities to learn and explore

Working knowledge of how genAI produces unique output is essential to purposefully innovating teaching and mitigating the risks as you develop your own critical AI literacy skills.

2) Experiment with AI

Consider using AI to develop lessons, materials, and activities and reflect on your implementation with other instructors to discuss your observations.

3) Share your work

Because GenAI tools are advancing quickly, sharing the results of classroom-based research is essential to keeping the professional conversation in lockstep with technological advancements.

4) Collaborate

Working with fellow instructors, advisors, and program managers can help you develop policies, co-plan teaching, and foster a supportive community in your unique educational setting.

5) Gather feedback from students
Transparent discussions with students can help you understand how and why they might use AI and can inform your decisions about what your students still need to know when it comes to appropriate use of AI tools and their learning.

We suggest that teacher educators draw from these recommendations to foster solid development of their own critical AI literacy skills. These skills are important for teacher educators who must both curate pre-service teachers exposure to content and model pedagogical strategies. We found early on that our students were already using AI and needed guidance to consider appropriate uses of it that permitted them to maximize its potential support while still developing their own foundational knowledge. Similarly, we anticipate that pre-service teachers will need guidance to make best use of AI tools while still developing a deep sense of their own pedagogical philosophy and skills. Regardless of your role in ELT, as AI continues to drive change, we can all play a role in determining its direction.

References

Kostka, I., & Toncelli, R. (2023). Exploring applications of ChatGPT to English language teaching: Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 27(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.27107int

Rachel Toncelli, EdD, is a lecturer at Northeastern University and Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where she teaches English language courses to undergraduate and graduate international students. Her current projects explore how English language educators develop critical AI literacy and how AI can be purposefully leveraged to support teaching and learning. Rachel serves on the Editorial Board for The Teaching English as a Second Language-Electronic Journal.

Ilka Kostka, PhD, is a teaching professor at Northeastern University, where she teaches English language courses to international students. Her scholarly interests focus primarily on applications of technology to teach academic English. She is the Secretary of Northern New England TESOL (NNETESOL) and serves on the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester in Worcester, Massachusetts.