A systematic review of language educators’ practices and development with GenAI

While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in language education, empirical evidence about how educators perceive, adopt, and learn to integrate these tools remains fragmented. This systematic review examines language educators’ adaptation to GenAI technologies through an analysis of 23 empirical studies published in SSCI-indexed journals between December 2022 and September 2024. Using PRSIMA guidelines, we examined educators across pre-service, in-service, and higher education contexts to address four questions: their perceptions of GenAI, factors influencing adoption, competency gaps, and professional development (PD). Across contexts, educators expressed cautious, selective adoption: GenAI was valued for lesson planning, materials creation, and writing support, yet classroom-facing use lagged due to concerns about academic integrity, role redefinition, and technostress. Reported competency gaps spanned episteme (limited understanding of AI capabilities/limits), techne (prompting, AI-enhanced task/assessment design, content evaluation), and phronesis (ethical judgment, bias/privacy, adaptive expertise). Only three studies reported structured PD, but each signaled gains in knowledge, confidence, and identity reframing. Findings underscore the need to pair technical skill-building with practical wisdom to enable effective, ethical GenAI integration in language education.