Investigating pre-service teachers’ AI literacy for ELL instruction: A mixed-methods study

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the educational field by storm, offering unique affordances for addressing diverse learners’ needs, including those of English language learners (ELLs). Harnessing the pedagogical value of AI, however, largely depends on teachers’ preparedness to integrate the new technology effectively into teaching. Pedagogical integration of AI is especially important for pre-service teachers (PSTs), who often struggle to gain enough technological fluency for teaching ELLs due to limited teaching experience and minimal exposure to field-specific technology experimentation. Given AI’s potential to support differentiated instruction, it is vital for PSTs to learn to use the technology effectively to teach ELLs. Grounded in the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework, this mixed-methods study investigated 90 PSTs’ foundational AI knowledge before and after two interventions. AI foundational knowledge was operationalized as participants’ familiarity with and frequency of use of ChatGPT for teaching and assessing ELLs. The study also analysed participants’ perspectives on how teacher education programs could better prepare them for future classrooms. We found significant gains in both familiarity with ChatGPT and frequency of using the tool following the interventions, although effect sizes were small to moderate, respectively. Additionally, participants showed awareness of the pedagogical value of ChatGPT for ELL instruction, while also expressing concerns related to ethical use of AI and emphasizing the irreplaceable role of human connections in teaching. They advocated for teacher education programs to incorporate AI literacy and hands-on experimentation with the technology into program curricula. Our findings suggest that, due to the complexity of AI platforms, more robust and targeted interventions may be necessary to foster meaningful advances in PSTs’ understanding of AI’s benefits. Moreover, while AI has sweeping implications for teaching, more preparation is needed to harness its potential for addressing the needs of unique student populations, such as ELLs.