‘Every decision falls back on me’: ethical dilemmas and professional responses to generative AI among English language teacher educators

This study explores how eight English language teacher educators (LTEs) in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao experienced and worked through the ethical dilemmas and professional tensions emerging from generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) integration. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, we conducted two rounds of interviews, including scenario-based critical incident prompts, and analysed the data thematically. For English LTEs, questions arise weekly, if not daily, about how to deal with GenAI in their students’ lesson design, as well as in assessment and supervision. Through the lens of role theory, the study identifies five recurring tensions: institutional silence, blurred authorship, fairness in assessment, student overreliance, and unequal access. Participants addressed these challenges by setting course-level rules, finding ways to trace students’ work processes, and modelling responsible use of GenAI. The findings show how role ambiguity and role conflict play out as LTEs move from enforcing rules to mediating ethical practice. The study suggests that uncertainty itself can become a space for professional learning and calls for institutions to support teachers in developing more ethical and context-aware ways of working with GenAI.