Artificial Intelligence Teaching Assistants on the Professional Development of Teachers: Evidence from German Language Teachers in Türkiye

The rapid proliferation of AI-powered tools has introduced significant pedagogical opportunities and challenges within educational landscapes. While some AI tools focus on individual learning processes and provide features to help students study, AI-powered teaching tools focus on teachers and provide features that support classroom and outside-of-class activities. Research on the effects of these new tools has been ongoing for some time. However, only a few studies have specifically examined AI-supported teaching assistants in the context of FL teaching. This study explores the impact of a widely used AI-powered teaching assistant on the professional development of German teachers in Turkey, aiming to fill this gap partially. The research employs a qualitative single-case study design. Data were collected from six German teachers through semi-structured interviews, and the instructional materials of the teachers were examined. The findings indicate that participants accepted the new tool and used it across all teaching stages. The areas where teachers benefited most included lesson preparation, activity and content development, and student assessment. The functions of this new tool enabled teachers to save time in their preparation and to create more advanced, differentiated, and personalized materials. However, some problems, including a lack of technical infrastructure and limited German-language support on the platform, have also been identified. A key finding is that teachers view AI-powered teaching assistants not merely as practical support tools, but also as pedagogical partners. These assistants have significantly improved the technological and pedagogical knowledge of teachers in a short time. Collectively, these findings offer novel insights into the design of sustainable professional development frameworks that support the development of effective, continuous professional development programs for language teachers in the context of emerging AI tools.