ARTIFICIAL TOOLS AND HUMAN LEARNING: PRACTICES WITH GENERATIVE AI IN PRIMARY ENGLISH TEACHING

Abstract

Exploring Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a transformative tool for teaching English in the 1^st Cycle of Basic Education demands 21^st century teachers to adopt a self(critical) literacy grounded in customised and comprehensive practices, where learning is perceived as a process rather than a technical and mechanical product.

Our study, therefore, arises a qualitative reflective study based on a training intervention experience involving the use of GenAI, aimed at Primary English teachers in Portugal. Its main objective was to critically analyse teachers’ discourses regarding the implementation of GenAI in the teaching and learning of English with children, with the intent of contributing to the resolution of emerging problems and developing innovative practices in this field.

Data collection included field notes and interaction records, which were interpreted qualitatively through reflective analysis. Findings suggest greater concerns towards the role of GenAI in fostering misleading forms of learning that lack critical thinking, creativity, and key competences for the use of English in real-life settings. Nevertheless, GenAI is also acknowledged as a positive contribution in supporting bureaucratic processes and in enhancing more human-centred learning when applied under a critical pedagogy.