From Local Stories to Global English: A Qualitative Study of Pre-Service English Teachers’ Experiences with AI-Assisted Gameful Pedagogy in a Teaching English to Young Learners Course
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FED.2026.06.10Keywords:
Artificial intelligence in ELT, Gameful pedagogy, Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL), Glocal pedagogy, Teacher identity.Abstract
This qualitative study explores pre-service English teachers’ experiences with AI-assisted gameful pedagogy implemented in a Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) course through a glocal pedagogical perspective. The study aimed to examine how AI-assisted gameful learning environments influenced pedagogical engagement, cultural meaning-making, and emerging teacher identities in digitally mediated ELT contexts. The participants consisted of 56 pre-service English teachers enrolled in a TEYL course at a university in Türkiye. Data were collected through reflective journals, digital teaching artefacts, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that participants perceived AI-assisted gameful pedagogy as interactive, collaborative, and creativity-oriented. AI-supported storytelling and gameful activities enhanced engagement, reflective learning, and instructional creativity while also encouraging participants to integrate local cultural narratives into global English teaching practices. However, participants also expressed concerns regarding ethical issues, cultural appropriateness, and overreliance on AI-generated content. The study further demonstrated that these experiences contributed to participants’ reflective professional learning and emerging teacher identities. Overall, the findings suggest that AI-assisted gameful pedagogy can support culturally responsive, reflective, and meaningful teacher education practices in TEYL contexts.
Keywords: AI-assisted pedagogy, Gameful pedagogy, Glocal pedagogy, Teaching English to Young Learners, Pre-service English teachers, Teacher identity development, Reflective learning
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