‘AI is like fire’

About this article

This article examines language teachers’ attitudes towards artificial intelligence through discourse analysis. It focuses on how teachers make sense of AI through metaphors, evaluative positions, pedagogical expectations, concerns and imaginaries about the future of teaching and learning.

The title metaphor, AI is like fire, captures the ambivalent way in which artificial intelligence may be represented as powerful, useful and transformative, while also requiring caution, responsibility, ethical judgment and situated pedagogical decision-making.

The article contributes to debates on AI and language education by foregrounding teachers’ discourses, rather than treating artificial intelligence only as a technical tool. It is especially relevant to research on language teacher education, digital literacies, AI-mediated learning and pedagogical change.