TESOL goes AI

In this episode, Phil reports to Mat on his adventures at the TESOL 2026 Convention in Salt Lake City, March 24-27. Phil talked with exhibitors and attended as many AI-focused presentations, panels, and posters as he could to get a sense of how AI/GenAI, is being presented by and to professional English language teachers. Mat comments on the value of panels and the conversations at conferences that take place during breaks and in the evening. General themes Mix of skepticism and excitement Some hype and naive applications, but less than expected Highlighting of ethics and critical AI Literacy (E.g., CALL Interest Section panel on AI ethics: https://submissions.mirasmart.com/TESOL2026/Itinerary/PresentationDetail.aspx?evdid=463 ) AI-focused exhibitors, including small-scale startups but also Duolingo Two standout presentations (among many!) Miriam Moore (University of North Georgia): four-part critical AI literacy framework. She recommends building a personal ethical checklist and conducting a privacy audit of AI platforms you use. https://submissions.mirasmart.com/TESOL2026/Itinerary/EventsAAG.aspx Jane Freeman (University of Toronto). Using a puppet-puppeteer analogy, she discusses the difference between cognitive offloading (for learners, AI as a shortcut to task completion—human is the puppet) and distributed cognition (AI as a collaborative partner—human is the puppeteer). She also noted (correctly) that “None of us are AI literate.” https://submissions.mirasmart.com/TESOL2026/Itinerary/EventsAAG.aspx Exhibitors Flowspeak: Semi-structured scenarios where ESL students interact with an AI to move from B1 to B2 to C1 CEF levels. https://www.flowspeak.io/ PangeaChat: Text or audio chat with others with AI support; also has an option for independent interaction with a chatbot. https://pangea.chat/ Unicorn Tutor AI: Transforms an institutional curriculum into AI lessons supporting interactive practice. https://unicorntutor.com/ ESLVideo’s Chattybots: Activities such as conversations, role plays, picture descriptions conducted with an AI chatbot. https://eslvideo.com/ TESOL publications on AI: https://www.tesol.org/professional-development/publications-and-research/tesol-press-bookstore/ Christina Kitson. AI Zip Guide Samaneh Eslamdoost. AI Enhanced ELT: Innovative Strategies to Transform your Classroom William Newman. AI No-Prep Activity Cards See https://submissions.mirasmart.com/TESOL2026/Itinerary/EventsAAG.aspx And: https://www.TESOL.org/