In this new age of artificial intelligence (AI), feelings are running high. Many are excited about the possibilities that this new technology can bring, seeing the potential for a reimagining of how we perceive work and the workplace. Others are anxious and are convinced that there is a risk that many people will lose not just their jobs but their entire professions. This fear is compounded by the fact that there seems to be little discussion about what will happen if a large proportion of the workforce are seen as surplus requirements.
It feels like we are at a pivotal moment, one where we will look back at the discourse of this time and think that it was either massively overblown, that the risks were overstated, or that dire warnings were a portent of what was to come. Only time will tell.
In this article, I’m going to assess the wider implications of AI developments for teachers, management, and materials creators and publishers. Using analysis of other industries, I’ll ask how at risk we are of replacement, and suggest ways for how we can future proof ourselves against these possible threats.
Unless you’re an avid reader on the latest developments in all things AI, and I don’t blame you if you’re struggling to stay in touch as things develop at a bewildering speed, how you feel right now is likely to depend on your current role. If you’re a teacher, standing in front of the class, you probably feel fairly secure, and think it’s unlikely that your position is under much threat. It seems unlikely that some robot will take your place anytime soon.
Anyone in management probably has similar feelings. Some aspects may be replaceable, but who’s going to speak to the parents and students? Who’s going to deal with the staff? You may feel that things may change, but you’re not going anywhere.
Those of us who work in publishing are feeling a lot less secure (as a materials writer and leader of BRAZ-TESOL’s Materials Writing Special Interest Group, this is the one that plays on my mind the most). We might ask if it’s possible to imagine that a teacher will be able to quickly pull up a tailored lesson plan instantaneously from a specialised service, rather than rely on a coursebook that they had no part in creating or choosing to teach with. The answer to this, despite the many problems that it would also create, should make everyone in publishing break out in a cold sweat.
Of course at this stage, this is all speculative, so it would be instructive to see what research tells us about the replaceability of various tasks, and how this could affect these three main roles in English Language Teaching. An early study by OpenAI, OpenResearch and the University of Pennsylvania looked at various professions and how much of their work could be replaced by AI. According to them, ‘education services’ were at a medium risk of exposure, but given the very broad nature of that term, I’m not sure we should read too much into it.
What I found most interesting was comparing the professions that were most at risk with those least likely to find themselves exposed to AI replacement. The positions most in peril include financial services, data processing, broadcasting, and management of companies. Those least at risk include specialist manufacturing, social services and care. Usually, I would consider those to be most at risk in a social upheaval like this to be those who earn the least and are most financially vulnerable. Interestingly, in this case it seems that there is actually a correlation between education and threat, as the authors point out:
“Our analysis suggests that individuals holding Bachelor’s, Master’s, and professional degrees are more exposed to LLMs (large language models) and LLM-powered software than those without formal educational credentials.”
What should we in English language teaching learn from this? Uniting the most at risk professions is a focus on data entry and management, repetitive and formulaic tasks that can be mechanised or performed by algorithms. The least at risk professions emphasise craft and skill, and person-to-person interaction.
When I apply this to what we do, I see clear parallels. In all three of the ELT positions I mentioned, teacher, manager, and materials creator and publisher, there are elements of both. On the at risk side, teachers have registers to keep and tests to adjudicate and grade, managers have budgets to manage and human resources databases, and materials creators have repetitive activities and answer keys to create.
On the other hand, the qualities of the least at risk professions are crucial to the effective carrying out of our work. Materials writing is, at its best, a creative endeavour. Materials should be written with personality, echoing the qualities of their author. Great managers are able to build relationships with their staff and students, and are able to think on their feet to find solutions to problems. And the link between good teaching and relating to your students, as well as creativity, should be clear to everyone reading this.
In all three positions, we are required to balance the, let’s be honest, boring tasks with the things that make jobs worth doing. In that sense, if new technologies take those jobs away from us, then I can’t imagine that many of us would complain. The trouble is that life is rarely so simple. Without wanting to sound pessimistic, I find it hard to believe that our workloads will be reduced, our wages will be maintained, and the same number of professionals will be required. I think there is a real possibility that our profession will shrink, and we need to be ready for it.
With that in mind, we should remind ourselves about why teaching is a special profession, and why it’s worth defending. On Reddit a few months ago, people were asked to comment on what a teacher said or did to you that you’ve never forgotten. What is striking about the responses is how rarely anyone mentioned anything related to the content of the lessons.
Here are some examples:
“My mother … wouldn’t feed us, send us in with lunch, bathe or groom us so we’d show up to school tired, hungry, and dirty. When my 1st grade teacher figured out what was going on, she started keeping a brush and wipes for me in her desk along with lunch money. She’d take me aside before other kids showed up and groom me and feed me.”
“I was homeschooled. I started public school, and … I’d never written anything before. I did my best and turned in what I’m sure was basically word salad. The teacher … took time out of his own schedule to get me up to speed and teach me the basics of grammar, structure, etc.”
“The teacher told us… ‘I know there’s a senior party tonight, if any of you can’t drive at any point during the night you can call me for a ride and I’ll take you home. I won’t tell your parents or get you in trouble, I just don’t want anyone drinking and driving.'”
What we see in these examples is the importance of empathy and creativity. The former is obvious, these are exceptional teachers who care deeply for their students and end up profoundly influencing their lives. The creativity may not be so obvious, as we usually interpret that only as good at making things, but in a teaching context I like to use Earl Stevick’s definition:
“What the teacher makes possible for the student to do, not just … what the teacher does.”
Great ELT professionals are able to forge opportunities for students to be creative. It is this that makes us the best version of ourselves that we can be, and is the thing that Al will never be able to reproduce. In the words of the singer and artist Nick Cave,
“ChatGPT has no inner being, it has been nowhere, it has endured nothing, it has not had the audacity to reach beyond its limitations, and hence it doesn’t have the capacity for a shared transcendent experience, as it has no limitations from which to transcend.”
It is by leaning into these qualities that we are best suited to resist the threat of Al. We must focus on what makes us empathetic and creative professionals. I have identified ten characteristics that can help us in this regard, focusing in this case on teachers, as they make up the majority of our profession, but with some reimagining they can easily be applied to all aspects of the industry.
1. CONNECTION
Emphasise the role of interpersonal relationships with your students. Learn about their lives (as much as they are comfortable with) and be open and caring. Welcome their opinions and give them space to be themselves.
2. COLLABORATION
Think of yourself as being in constant collaboration with your students, your management, and whoever created your materials. Collaboration doesn’t just mean working together in the moment, it means understanding your role in a process that requires multiple partners in order to achieve success. In this way, you are also collaborating with your past and future selves.
3. DIVERSITY
Welcoming a variety of voices into your classroom can only enhance the experience for everyone. It will allow your students to feel a greater sense of belonging which will increase their motivation. Lessons will become more interesting and varied as they reflect the real world.
4. OPENNESS
Be open to new ideas and perspectives. Consume art in its various forms and keep learning. Add new areas of knowledge to your interests. Read, listen, watch, and play. By opening up to the world, you will become someone that people want to spend time around.
5. DISCIPLINE
It’s not enough to be, you must also do, and a lack of organisation leads to wasted time. Being conscious of how you spend your time and using it for things that only distract is very difficult to manage in the modern age. It takes thought and discipline to use your time well.
6. KNOWLEDGE
Keep learning and improving yourself as a professional. There are many ways to do this, and it doesn’t only mean formal study and qualifications. Read articles, listen to podcasts, watch presentations, it really doesn’t matter as long as you don’t get lazy and think of yourself as the finished article.
7. CHALLENGE
Never get too comfortable. If things feel too simple, and if you just keep going through the same routines, this should serve as a warning to you. Find ways of exploring new areas to elevate your teaching to a higher level.
8. EXPECTATION
Striving for perfection is often as damaging as doing nothing. See yourself as a work in progress, and allow space for mistakes and missteps. It’s a cliche that we tell our students, but it’s true, and we shouldn’t forget to apply it ourselves.
9. IMITATION
Look for examples from those you respect, observe what it is that you admire about them, and incorporate these into your teaching practice. No one is expected to come up with only original ideas, often the most creative and innovative practitioners are those that take the ideas of others and make them their own.
10. PRACTICE
Put all of these things into practice and try them out. Make them a part of your classroom routines and try to build habits. Habit and practice is how we build excellence.
Whether it is a threat or opportunity, there is no doubt in my mind that the rise of Al technologies will have a profound influence on the world of work, and English Language Teaching is no exception. It is precisely the qualities that make our profession remarkable that will protect us from this change, and I hope that this article has inspired you to not be too pessimistic but rather to embrace and amplify what makes you the professional that you are.
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