By Faiz Nabil Musyaffa, S.S. Mahasiswa Magister Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Negeri Semarang

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the landscape of education, including English Language Teaching (ELT). Tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, QuillBot, and various adaptive learning platforms are now widely accessible to teachers and students alike. Much of the current discussion around AI in ELT focuses on efficiency, automation, and learning outcomes. However, beyond these practical concerns lies a deeper and often overlooked issue: how AI is transforming teacher identity.

Teacher identity is not merely a professional label; it is a dynamic construct shaped by beliefs, experiences, institutional expectations, and sociocultural contexts. For English teachers, identity has traditionally been closely linked to linguistic expertise, authority over knowledge, and responsibility for evaluating students’ language competence. The emergence of AI challenges these foundations and forces teachers to confront difficult questions about their relevance, authority, and professional value in an increasingly automated educational environment.

Traditionally, English teachers have been positioned as linguistic authorities. They model correct language use, explain grammar, provide feedback on writing, and guide learners toward communicative competence. With the emergence of AI capable of generating grammatically accurate texts and instant feedback, this authority is no longer exclusive to teachers. At first glance, this shift may feel threatening. If AI can explain grammar, correct errors, and even generate essays, what remains for the teacher?

My initial encounters with AI reflected this anxiety. When I first used ChatGPT and Grammarly in teaching-related tasks, I was impressed by their speed and accuracy, but also unsettled. AI could perform in seconds what often took teachers hours. This raised an uncomfortable question: Does AI diminish the relevance of teachers?

Over time, however, my perspective changed. I began to realize that AI does not replace teachers; rather, it exposes the limitations of a teacher identity that is overly centered on information delivery and technical correction. In this sense, AI acts as a catalyst, pushing teachers to redefine their professional value beyond linguistic accuracy.

In the age of AI, teacher identity increasingly shifts from being a language expert to a learning facilitator and critical mediator. While AI can produce text, it cannot fully understand learners’ intentions, emotions, cultural backgrounds, or learning struggles. Teachers, on the other hand, interpret context, respond empathetically, and make pedagogical judgments that AI cannot replicate. These human dimensions of teaching become even more essential when technology is deeply embedded in learning processes.

Ethics also emerges as a crucial dimension of teacher identity in the age of AI. Issues of academic integrity, authorship, and fairness have become more complex as AI-generated texts blur the boundary between assistance and substitution. Students may use AI without fully understanding its implications for learning and originality. In this context, teachers assume the role of ethical mentors who guide students toward responsible, transparent, and reflective use of technology. This ethical responsibility extends teacher identity beyond instructional competence to moral leadership.

Moreover, AI intensifies the need for teachers to become ethical guides. Issues such as academic integrity, authorship, and responsible AI use are now central to ELT classrooms. Students may rely excessively on AI-generated texts without understanding the learning process behind them. In this context, teachers play a crucial role in shaping students’ ethical awareness and digital responsibility. Teacher identity thus expands to include the role of moral and ethical educator in a technologically complex environment.

Another significant aspect of teacher identity in the age of AI relates to ethics and responsibility. AI raises serious concerns about academic integrity, authorship, and fairness in assessment. The line between “AI-assisted” and “AI-generated” work is often blurred, particularly in higher education. In this context, teachers are no longer merely assessors of language accuracy, but ethical guides who help students navigate responsible and transparent AI use. This ethical dimension adds a new layer to teacher identity, one that positions teachers as moral educators in digitally complex learning environments.

From my experience, engaging with AI also demands that teachers develop strong AI literacy. This does not mean mastering technical programming skills, but understanding AI’s strengths, limitations, and biases. Teachers who lack this literacy risk either rejecting AI entirely or accepting it uncritically. Both positions weaken professional identity. In contrast, teachers who engage critically with AI position themselves as informed decision-makers rather than passive technology users.

Importantly, teacher identity in the age of AI is not static; it is negotiated and reconstructed through daily practice. Teachers must continuously reflect on how their beliefs, practices, and values align with technological change. This reflective stance is especially important in ELT, where language learning is deeply connected to identity, communication, and social interaction.

In ELT specifically, this transformation is particularly significant because language learning is deeply connected to identity, communication, and social interaction. English teachers do not simply teach linguistic forms; they mediate meaning, culture, and voice. AI, for all its sophistication, lacks lived experience and social consciousness. As such, it cannot replace the relational and interpretive work that teachers perform in language classrooms.

Ultimately, AI invites teachers to reclaim the human core of education. While machines may assist with language production and assessment, they cannot replace teachers’ roles as mentors, motivators, and meaning-makers. In this sense, AI does not erode teacher identity; instead, it clarifies it. It reminds educators that their value lies not in competing with machines, but in cultivating human capacities that technology cannot replicate.

In conclusion, teacher identity in the age of AI is marked by transformation rather than disappearance. English teachers are no longer defined solely by their linguistic expertise, but by their ability to guide, contextualize, and humanize learning in digitally mediated environments. The challenge, therefore, is not whether teachers will survive AI, but whether educational systems will support teachers in redefining their identities with confidence, critical awareness, and ethical responsibility.