Cultivating preservice teachers’ GenAI competencies in a grammar methodology course

As preservice language teachers (PLTs) increasingly turn to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for planning, explanation, and materials design, teacher education programs face the challenge of making these uses pedagogically visible, ethically bounded, and professionally accountable. This study reports on the design and implementation of an eight-week module embedding GenAI into a core grammar methodology course. Grounded in Schön’s reflective practice and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, the research investigates how PLTs appropriate GenAI as a drafting partner for lesson design, assessment, and ethical reflection. Participants included 32 PLTs in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program in Türkiye. Reflexive thematic analysis of weekly reflections, interviews, and course artifacts traced the development of PLTs’ professional judgment. Analysis revealed a developmental progression from instrumental experimentation to evidence-based, ethically bounded use. Participants advanced in prompt literacy, established routine verification, and adopted consistent disclosure habits. Crucially, they consolidated a teacher-first identity prioritizing pedagogical defensibility over technological novelty. The study offers a practice-proximal model for integrating GenAI into Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE). Embedding GenAI into core pedagogy, rather than isolated electives, can strengthen professional judgment, reflective accountability, and assessment literacy.