Teacher Cognition and Practices in Using Generative AI Tools to Support Student Engagement in EFL Higher-Education Contexts.

Abstract

As Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools become increasingly embedded in higher education, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers are challenged to rethink their pedagogical identities and practices. While policy discourses often promote GenAI for its potential to enhance instructional efficiency, little is known about how language teachers conceptualize and employ these tools to foster meaningful student engagement. This study explores how university-level EFL teacherinterpret and implement GenAI technologies to support student engagement through narrative inquiry. Drawing on three-level narrative approach, story, Story, and STORY, it examines nine language teachers' retrospective experiences with GenAI tools across personal, contextual, and sociopolitical dimensions. The findings indicate that teachers' interactions with GenAI are shaped by their pedagogical affordance, as well as their teaching values, imposed political agendas, and professional agency. This study calls for professional development programs specifically designed for teachers' narrative identities to ultimately facilitate the ethical use of GenAI in learner-centered EFL contexts.