Document Type
Article
Date
4-10-2026
Keywords
generative AI, English language programs, communities of practice, practitioner action research, professional identity, reflexive thematic analysis
Language
English
Disciplines
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Education
Description/Abstract
Generative AI (GenAI) adoption in English language programs (ELPs) has outpaced training and institutional support. This practitioner action research (AR) study investigates how eight professionals in a university-based ELP navigated GenAI integration through structured inquiry within a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Wenger, 1998). Following Burns's (2010) cyclical AR model and Whitehead and McNiff's (2006) living theory approach, participants engaged in a semester-long AR cycle (January–April 2025). Data comprised transcriptions of three recorded meetings and four researcher journals, analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Five themes were identified: implications of GenAI on professional practices, personal and professional identity, efficiency versus deskilling, ethics of GenAI use, and policies around GenAI use. Participants discussed instrumental, task-level problems alongside existential questions about authenticity, human relevance, and professional identity. The CoP developed shared repertoires, including commitments to transparency, verification as professional responsibility, and platform agnosticism, while individual trajectories ranged from systematic integration to persistent resistance. The study shifts research focus from individual perceptions to collective sense-making, extends the professional community beyond instructors, and demonstrates that GenAI integration in ELPs is not merely a technical challenge but an identity and ethical one benefiting from collaborative inquiry.
Recommended Citation
Patent, David; Lind, David T.; Walker, Amy M.; Oganesyan, Olga; Jiang, Jeff W.; Berl, Haley L.; Manion, Tara K.; and Gillette, Kelsey Rae, "Generative AI in an English Language Program: Practitioner Action Research in a Community of Practice" (2026). College of Professional Studies - All Scholarship. 2.
https://surface.syr.edu/uc/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Additional Information
This study was submitted to the Syracuse University Institutional Review Board and was granted an exemption from further review under federal regulations (Protocol #25-033).