Generative artificial intelligence, particularly large language models such as ChatGPT, has emerged as a promising educational technology tool with extensive application potential in teaching preparation. The research objectives of this study are: 1) to examine how generative AI affects foreign language teachers’ teaching preparation experiences in terms of curriculum design, instructional resource development, teaching activity planning, work motivation, and efficiency; and 2) to identify the strengths, challenges, and teacher-recommended improvements associated with generative AI use in foreign language teaching preparation. This qualitative case study explored how generative AI assists foreign language teachers in their teaching preparation work, addressing a research gap regarding the benefits and challenges of this innovative approach. The study involved 13 foreign language teachers at a comprehensive university in central China who participated in a four-week training program. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that generative AI positively affects teachers’ preparation experiences in curriculum design, instructional resource development, and teaching activity planning, while enhancing motivation and efficiency. In degree-of-significance terms, the positive impact was large for curriculum design (reported by 10/13 teachers, approximately 77%), large for instructional resource development (10/13, approximately 77%), moderate-to-large for teaching activity planning (8/13, approximately 62%), large for work motivation (9/13, approximately 69%), and large for work efficiency (10/13, approximately 77%); by contrast, the impact on assessment design and teaching research was small (2/13 and 1/13, respectively). These insights contribute to understanding the utility and constraints of employing generative AI in foreign language teaching preparation and inform the development of effective teaching support strategies and training programs.
Guo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.