Files

No attached file found for this publication.

Details

Authors
Abstract
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in language education presents new opportunities for teacher professional development while also raising critical questions about teacher agency, professional identity, and ethical responsibility in human–technology relationships. Within the framework of the Circle U. Language Teachers’ Nexus (CU.LTN), a CoP for Circle U. language teachers (Suñer et al., 2026), we investigated how language teachers engage with AI through Communities of Practice (CoPs) and how this engagement relates to their perceived learning gains. Based on previous findings from teacher education research, such collaborative and long-term professional development formats appear to be better suited to enabling teachers to develop, fine-tune, adapt, and implement innovative practices (Calvert, 2016). In this context, engagement with mediational tools in such a collaborative setting is crucial for social learning. Participants in the community of practice engage with good practices, collaboratively reflect on their implementation, and actively adapt them so that they better fit their own classroom contexts. This, in turn, requires cognitive, social, and agentic engagement as a precondition for technology acceptance and the enactment of new practices. More recent research suggests that the setup of such Communities of Practice does not automatically lead to professional development and that the conditions under which they operate, together with participants' engagement, determine the extent to which meaningful professional learning can occur (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008; Hendrickx et al., 2025). Against this backdrop, three research questions were addressed: 1. What engagement profiles emerge among language teachers participating in AI-focused Communities of Practice with respect to behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and agentic engagement? 2. How do these engagement profiles differ in their perceived learning gains? 3. How do teachers perceive the role of AI-focused Communities of Practice in supporting their professional learning and development? To examine these dynamics, an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted. The quantitative phase mapped patterns of engagement and perceived learning gains via a validated questionnaire, while semi-structured interviews were used in the qualitative phase to interrogate the situated mechanisms by which CoPs shape teachers' AI literacy, self-reflection, and professional identity (Walter, 2024). The present paper lays out the theoretical underpinnings of how social learning in Communities of Practice can promote professional development. It then presents the methodology and implementation of the study, provides an overview of the findings, and concludes by examining the implications for language teachers and Communities of Practice. References Calvert, L. (2016). The power of teacher agency. Journal of Staff Development, 37(2), 51–56. Hendrickx, M. M. H. G., Thurlings, M. C. G., & Den Brok, P. (2025). Teachers’ collaborative knowledge building in professional learning communities: Connecting interaction patterns to learning gains. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 40(1), Article 39. Suñer, F., Starrs, C., Turneer, E., Asgari, M., Bastanes, C., & Garcia Tarifa, M. (2026). Strengthening teacher collaboration across Circle U. with communities of practice: The Language Teacher Nexus Project. NEXUS Journal: Connecting Teaching Practice and Research, 6. Walter, Y. (2024). Embracing the future of artificial intelligence in the classroom: The relevance of AI literacy, prompt engineering, and critical thinking in modern education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, Article 15. Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Suner Munoz, F., Starrs, C., & Van Vossel, L. (2026, August 31). Language Teachers’ Engagement With AI Through Communities of Practice: Evidence From the Circle U. Language Teachers’ Nexus. Language Teaching in Motion, Vienne. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/280982