Unveiling the Impact of <scp>AI</scp> ‐Oriented Professional Development on Chinese <scp>EFL</scp> Teachers' Pedagogical Character Formation

ABSTRACT Recently, the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has led to different changes and developments in second/foreign language (L2) education. However, the interplay of AI and teacher professionalism has received insufficient attention in the literature. To address the gap, the current study adopted a qualitative approach to examine how attending AI‐oriented teacher professional development (TPD) programs had affected teachers' pedagogical character formation. A sample composed of 31 Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers participated in individual online interviews. The results of thematic analysis indicated that attending AI‐oriented TPDs could help EFL teachers' pedagogical character formation by ‘enhancing technological proficiency and literacy’, ‘increasing adaptability to educational change and innovation’, ‘boosting pedagogical competency and self‐efficacy in adopting AI’, and ‘encouraging reflectivity and autonomy in education’. Each finding is distinctively discussed, and implications for EFL teachers and teacher educators are provided at the theory and practice levels to encourage more AI‐powered TPDs in the L2 education contexts to foster a modern teaching character.