English Teacher Training in the Era of AI (Artificial Intelligence): The Perspectives of Teachers from Greece, Kosovo, and Türkiye

Aslı Çelik¹, asli.asli293@gmail.com

¹Ministry of Education, Türkiye, +905302366852

ABSTRACT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role in language education and thus, the efficiency of English teacher training in terms of its contributions to teacher education in the era of AI is highly analyzed. The research paper focused on examining the role of AI in English language learning, how effective and sufficient the current English teacher training is, whether English teachers are equipped with the proficiencies to implement AI in language education, and how English teachers cultivate their professional teacher identity in the era of AI. This research was conducted through two processes. In the first process, the online questionnaire was conducted among English teachers with less than ten years of experience in English language teaching to determine the teachers’ perspectives on English teacher training in the era of AI in Greece, Kosovo, and Türkiye. In the second process, a semi-structured interview was used as a data collection method that relied on asking questions online and/or face-to-face meetings with the academicians from the English teacher training departments in higher education in order to examine the insights into the role of AI in English teacher training and its effectiveness versus ineffectiveness. Moreover, this research offered a comparative study that attempted to identify the differences and similarities regarding the inclusion of AI between the English teacher training programs employed in Greece, Kosovo, and Türkiye. This study revealed that English teachers from Greece, Kosovo, and Türkiye expressed their deficiencies in adapting the language teaching methods, tools, and activities into Al-driven education ecosystems. This research concluded that AI has the potential to transform the functioning of the language education system and empower English teachers progressively. It was determined that English teachers should be ready for the upcoming changes in the AI era, for which they must be equipped with the necessary knowledge and abilities to implement AI in language teaching, and English teacher education programs must adapt and implement substantial changes in the current education systems in accordance with these key concepts.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, English teacher training, ELT, AI-driven education