E84 - AI in ELT: Building Critical AI Literacy and Leading with Pedagogy (with Rachel Toncelli & Ilka Kostka)

This episode of The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast, hosted by Anna and Shé, features Northeastern University educators Rachel Toncelli and Ilka Kostka, co-authors of Artificial Intelligence, Real Teaching: A Guide to AI in ELT, discussing practical and pedagogical approaches to AI in English language teaching. They address common misconceptions, including fears that AI will replace language learning, and argue that language remains essential for human connection, cultural nuance, and intercultural competence. Rachel and Ilka explain why banning AI doesn’t work and emphasize transparency, ongoing classroom dialogue, and using AI as a teaching challenge by having students critically analyze AI output, translations, and AI-generated emails. They also share a 10-category framework for evaluating AI tools based on alignment with learning goals, usability, feedback, bias, privacy, cost, and scalability, and encourage teachers to take small, collaborative, hands-on steps to build AI literacy.📚Artificial Intelligence, Real Teaching: A Guide to AI in ELTRelated Teacher Think-Aloud episodes:E 75 - Generative AI in Education: A Teacher’s Guide (with Sara Davila)E 51 - 2024 Friends of the Podcast: AI in ELTE 48 - Bring your teaching alive with ChatGPT (with Jeff McIlvenna)💡 Reflect with us: How are you navigating AI use in your classroom? What tips or tricks for implementation do you have to share with teachers trying to do the same?🎧 SponsorThis episode is sponsored by Ellii, one of the world’s leading content libraries for English language teachers. Looking for ready-made lessons that get students talking? Visit Ellii.com.Use code THINKALOUD for 15% off your first membership term. Admins can also request a two-month free trial to pilot Ellii for your program.📚 Chapters00:00 Sponsor Message00:18 Podcast Partners01:50 AI in ELT Setup04:34 Meet the Guests05:41 Bookish Icebreaker08:42 Why They Wrote It15:17 Collaboration Matters17:37 Misconception Language Ends25:50 Teacher Fears and Integrity27:57 In-Class AI Literacy30:43 Protecting Student Voice32:48 Show Don’t Tell Activities33:37 Email Etiquette Pitfalls35:08 AI As Communication Bridge36:54 Tool Evaluation Framework38:34 Ten Criteria Checklist42:42 Start Small With AI44:01 Hands On Tool Exploration47:32 Mindset Over Interface49:21 Book Clubs And Community52:06 Hosts Reflect And Reframe55:06 Listener Call To Action55:46 Closing Farewell#AIinELT #ArtificialIntelligenceRealTeaching #AIinLanguageTeaching #CriticalAILiteracy #AIforTeachers #EdTech #ELT #TESOL #TEFL #ESLteachers #EFLteachers #LanguageTeaching #StudentCenteredLearning #MeaningfulCommunication #TeacherThinkAloud #ELTPodcast #TeacherDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #ReflectivePractice #ReflectiveTeaching #TeacherEducation #TeacherPD #ClassroomPractice #AILiteracy #EnglishTeachers #GlobalELT