Integrating Artificial Intelligence Tools into English Language Teaching: Opportunities and Challenges for Teachers

Abstract

Over the past decade, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has shifted from supportive digital tools to more sophisticated systems with an active learning and teaching function. The present study discusses literature between 2021 and mid-2025 on the use of AI tools in English Language Teaching (ELT), with a specific concentration on teachers' attitudes, potential, and concerns. A PRISMA-guided methodology drove the search and screening of 65 peer-reviewed papers, case studies, and practitioners' reports from around the globe. The review classifies main categories of AI applications, including adaptive learning systems, automatic evaluation systems, conversational agents, translation and multimodal tools, and AI literacy tools. The evidence points to potential benefits, such as personalized learning, productivity gains for teachers, enhanced learner engagement, and enhanced access for students from low-resourced environments. Simultaneously, key issues are flagged concerning pedagogy, infrastructure, teacher education, ethics, privacy, and professional identity. Case studies report on actual teacher and student experiences using ChatGPT, Duolingo, and Grammarly, illustrating possibilities as well as dangers for classroom adoption. The review further points towards the incorporation of AI literacy in teacher training, provision of ongoing professional development, and building critical digital literacy. The findings first and foremost signal that the successful use of AI in ELT should appropriately weigh teaching methods and technological innovation, moral rights, and contextualization in their upholding of fairness and longevity.