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Ziyi Geng

Wake Forest University, USA

 

Abstract

Generative AI (GenAI)’ s applications in language education have sparked significant discussions and innovations. As key facilitators of language classrooms, teachers play a critical role in guiding learners to effectively harness AI for language acquisition. However, little attention has been given to the process of teacher learning through structured professional development programs, particularly from the perspective of Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory (SCT), leaving a gap in understanding how teachers develop, internalize, and apply AI-driven pedagogies. This qualitative collective case study, then, examines the transformative learning process of five Chinese language teachers as they explore the integration of GenAI in online teaching based on a semester-long online teacher training program in the U.S. through Cyclical Dialogic Interactions (Agnoletto and Dellagnelo, 2024), navigate the relationship between their "imagination" and "ideal" of GenAI in teaching. Findings reveal a nonlinear, recursive cycle in which teachers verbalized their imagination, constructed and reconstructed ideals of GenAI use, and connected these ideals to classroom practice especially on the picturegenerating activities. Key moments of tension—such as mismatches between imagined activities and classroom realities—generated Zones of Proximal Development (ZPDs) where dialogue transformed challenges into learning opportunities. Teachers’ ideals about GenAI integration evolved from focusing on efficiency to valuing student agency and depth of engagement, highlighting how AI can serve as both a pedagogical tool and a catalyst for reimagining language teaching.

 

Keywords

GenAI, language teacher education, Chinese language teachers, sociocultural theory, cyclical dialogic interactions

 

生成式人工智能背景下汉语教师教学理想的建构与重构——基于循环对话互动的集体案例研究

耿子怡

维克森林大学，美国

 

摘要

生成式人工智能（ GenAI）在语言教育领域的应用引发了广泛讨论与创新。作为语言课堂的重要引导者，教师在帮助学习者有效利用人工智能促进语言习得方面发挥着关键作用。然而，关于教师如何通过系统化专业发展项目学习并应用生成式人工智能的研究仍较为有限，尤其缺乏社会文化理论视角下对教师学习过程的深入探讨。本研究以维果茨基社会文化理论（ SCT）为理论框架，采用质性集体案例研究方法，考察五位汉语教师在美国某学期制在线教师培训项目中，通过循环对话互动（ Cyclical Dialogic Interactions）探索生成式人工智能融入在线汉语教学的转化性学习过程，以及她们如何协商和建构关于人工智能教学应用的“想象”与“理想”。研究发现，教师学习呈现出非线性、循环递进的发展特征 ：教师不断表达、建构与重构其关于人工智能教学的理想，并逐步将其与课堂实践相联系。教师在生成式人工智能支持下设计和实施图片生成活动时表现尤为突出。研究进一步发现，教师关于人工智能的理想与课堂现实之间的张力成为推动专业发展的重要动力，并促使教师重新思考人工智能在语言教学中的角色与价值。

 

关键词

生成式人工智能，语言教师教育，汉语教师，社会文化理论，循环对话互动