Conference Program

In this era of global interconnectedness and unpredictability, education must equip students to become engaged, globally competent citizens who can navigate complex controversial problems, e.g., migration, climate change, wars, polarisation, racism and extremism (OECD, 2018) and even the use of AI. EFL teacher education has a unique role to play here: pre-service teachers must not only develop the skills to facilitate difficult discussions themselves, but also be prepared to nurture their students' social-emotional and critical thinking skills in the process. Yet there is a dearth of research on incorporating controversial issues into EFL teacher education and preparing pre-service teachers for such discussions, especially in the Hungarian context (Divéki, 2024).

Incorporating controversial topics into the EFL curriculum has numerous benefits; through debates and discussions, students can develop their language, citizenship, and social-emotional skills (Pereszlényi & Divéki, 2024). AI tools have the potential to support this process in meaningful ways. AI chatbots can provide students with opportunities for meaningful interaction, personalised learning, individualised feedback, and a low-pressure environment for practice (Pesovski et al., 2024; Rebolledo Font de la Vall & González Araya, 2023). By providing information and facilitating the generation of arguments and counterarguments, AI can encourage students to engage with complex, controversial topics and develop a deeper understanding of the issues and their own stances. These tools also offer interactive, student-centred activities, such as simulated discussions, debates and role-plays (Shazly, 2020), which allow students to practice expressing their thoughts in a mature, nuanced and confident manner. In teacher education specifically, these affordances can be particularly valuable, offering pre-service teachers unique opportunities to practice challenging discussions in a controlled, low-stakes environment.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of AI tools in facilitating discussions about controversial issues with pre-service EFL teachers, examining both their pedagogical potential for developing trainees' speaking and social-emotional skills and their perceptions of AI-powered discussions. Using a case study design, a semester-long study was conducted with a group of pre-service EFL teachers (N=16) in a language skills development seminar at a Hungarian university. Each week, the students engaged with different AI tools while addressing controversial topics through interactive student-centred activities (e.g., role-plays, debates, organised discussions). Data was collected through reflective journals, beginning and end-of-semester surveys, class discussion feedback sheets, student reflections, and semi-structured interviews (n=5).

The findings indicate that AI-powered discussions enhanced students' confidence in addressing controversial topics. Particularly noteworthy was the role of AI in supporting argument construction for more demanding debates and role-play activities and in developing students' critical thinking and AI-literacy skills. Nonetheless, while students found the tools useful for preparing for discussions, they expressed ambiguous feelings about the use of AI in class, raising questions about perceived authenticity and the role of human interaction in meaningful discussion practice.

The implications of this study point to the need for systematic integration of AI tools in teacher education programmes, alongside the development of targeted materials and guidelines for using AI to facilitate difficult discussions in the EFL context.