Teacher Expertise in the Era of AI
Willy A Renandya, 22 Nov 2025
AI tools are becoming an increasingly common part of English language teaching. They help teachers prepare lessons more quickly, find useful examples, design activities, and even provide feedback to students.
However, using AI productively is far from automatic. To gain real value from it, teachers must draw on three essential forms of professional capital: linguistic capital, knowledge capital, and prompting capital.
Together, these capacities enable educators to use AI with greater purpose and precision, thereby reinforcing the key role of teacher expertise in today’s tech-driven classrooms.
In the hands of a knowledgeable teacher, AI is not simply a tool that simplifies his work but a powerful partner that supports better teaching, makes lessons more engaging, and helps meet students’ individual needs.
Linguistic Capital
Linguistic capital refers to a teacher’s command of English, especially tone, style, register, and context. AI can produce fluent text, but it cannot always judge what is appropriate for specific learners or teaching goals.
Teachers need the linguistic awareness to adjust AI-generated language. The vocabulary may be too difficult, the tone may be too formal, or the style may not match the task. Without strong linguistic capital, unsuitable AI output may go unnoticed.
For example, AI may produce an A2 reading text filled with words like sustainable ecosystem or interpersonal dynamics. A teacher might accept it without seeing that it is too advanced.
AI may also generate an overly formal text such as “I would like to extend my gratitude for your esteemed guidance,” which is inappropriate for teenagers learning simple requests.
It may even provide grammar explanations using terms like non-defining relative clauses or non-finite clauses.
In sum, the teacher’s linguistic capital is the filter that ensures the language is appropriate for the student’s level and the instructional context.
Knowledge Capital
Knowledge capital refers to understanding TESOL theories, methods, and classroom practices. AI can produce summaries and lesson ideas, but it cannot replace professional judgement.
Teachers need strong knowledge to evaluate whether AI content is reliable, up-to-date, and pedagogically sound. Without this, they may accept activities that look appealing but do not serve learning objectives.
For example, AI may suggest a grammar lesson that is fully teacher-centred, offering long explanations with no communicative practice.
AI might also propose a vocabulary activity with 30 new low-frequency words that learners are unlikely to need right away. It might also recommend a reading lesson that emphasises analysing language features rather than helping students make sense of the text.
In short, the teacher’s knowledge capital is key to ensuring that AI suggestions for teaching align with well-established TESOL principles and practices.
Prompting Capital
Effective prompting is the third requirement. Clear and targeted instructions are needed for AI to produce useful results. If prompts are vague or incomplete, AI may generate content that is generic, too complex, or simply unusable.
This critical skill is referred to here as Prompting Capital.
Prompting capital is defined as: A teacher’s capacity to effectively design, adapt, and refine AI prompts to support teaching, learning, and assessment. This includes understanding prompt structure, role-setting, constraints, and iterative refinement for optimal AI responses.
For instance, asking AI to “Create a reading lesson” often produces a lesson that is too long or mismatched with student level. Similarly, a vague prompt like “Give activities for speaking” can lead to unsuitable tasks.
Asking AI to “Create a reading lesson for a group of intermediate high school students from Vietnam who enjoy reading about well-known K-Pop icons” can lead to a more relevant and motivating lesson because the prompt includes key details like the students’ level, age, country, and interests.
Thus, prompting capital is what allows the teacher to strategically guide the AI to meet more precise educational needs.
The Role of Reading in Building Capital
Regular reading is essential for strengthening both linguistic capital and knowledge capital. Reading exposes teachers to different styles, tones, and registers, helping them understand how language works in authentic contexts. It expands vocabulary and builds awareness of what level-appropriate language looks like.
Reading also supports knowledge capital by keeping teachers updated on current theories and approaches, whether through research articles, classroom case studies, or reflective blogs by fellow educators.
It expands their professional knowledge base and helps them connect new ideas to their own practice and adapt them thoughtfully.
Even reading for 10 to 15 minutes a day can make a meaningful difference, reinforcing habits of lifelong learning and professional curiosity.
Conclusion
AI is a powerful tool, but teachers bring the expertise. To use AI productively in TESOL, teachers need strong linguistic capital, solid knowledge capital, effective prompting capital, and a consistent reading habit.
Using AI doesn’t make the teacher less important—in fact, it makes the teacher’s role even more important.
It takes thoughtful, skilled decisions to use AI wisely.