Defining and Examining Self-Reported GenAI Literacy and Pedagogical Judgment in Language Teacher Education: A Course-Integrated Professional Development Intervention
TL;DR
It is argued that GenAI literacy in TESOL is better conceptualized as language-mediated professional judgment, encompassing evaluation, mediation, constraint-setting, and principled refusal, than as adoption readiness.
Abstract
Abstract This mixed-methods study examines short-term changes in self-reported generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) literacy and articulated pedagogical judgment among in-service and transitioning language teachers enrolled in a graduate TESOL course at a Canadian university. A course-integrated intervention of three sequenced workshops addressed GenAI use in language education, algorithmic bias and assessment, and equity, accessibility, and digital literacies. The study did not test learner outcomes; it examined short-term shifts in teachers’ self-reported GenAI literacy and articulated pedagogical judgment. Quantitative data came from selected sections of an existing teacher artificial intelligence (AI) literacy scale covering ethical understanding, classroom integration, tool evaluation, and assessment-oriented application. Fifteen participants completed matched pre- and post-intervention surveys, which were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and descriptive effect sizes. Qualitative data consisted of structured reflections completed after each workshop and analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Reflection data, which carry the main interpretive weight, suggested movement from general awareness of GenAI risks towards more conditional reasoning about prompting, AI-generated language, assessment evidence, learner agency, linguistic normativity, access, and privacy. Survey results were consistent with this pattern, showing directional increases across all four self-reported literacy domains, with the strongest mean gains in ethics, tool evaluation, and assessment-oriented application. The quantitative results are descriptive and not the principal basis for the study’s claims. Findings are bounded to a small, single-site teacher education context. I argue that GenAI literacy in TESOL is better conceptualized as language-mediated professional judgment, encompassing evaluation, mediation, constraint-setting, and principled refusal, than as adoption readiness.
