Effectiveness of AI-Assisted CLIL Instruction on Developing Methodological Competence in Pre-Service EFL Teachers: A Mixed-Methods Study
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Abstract
This study addresses a persistent gap in teacher education research: although artificial intelligence is increasingly incorporated into language pedagogy, limited evidence exists on how AI-supported instruction contributes to the methodological competence of pre-service EFL teachers, particularly within Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) environments. The study investigates whether and how AI-assisted CLIL instruction supports the development of pedagogical planning, material design, assessment awareness, and reflective decision-making in teacher preparation. The analysis is informed by an integrated framework combining CLIL pedagogy, sociocultural learning theory, teacher competence theory, and technology-mediated pedagogical knowledge.
A mixed-methods design was employed to capture both measurable change and interpretive depth. The study was conducted with pre-service EFL teachers enrolled in a teacher education program, where AI-supported CLIL tasks were embedded into methodology-oriented coursework. Quantitative data were gathered through pre- and post-intervention measures of methodological competence, while qualitative data drew on reflective writing, instructional artifacts, and participant interviews to examine how the intervention shaped pedagogical thinking and practice.
The findings indicate that AI-assisted CLIL instruction can strengthen methodological competence when technology is used as a scaffold for pedagogical reasoning rather than as a shortcut for task completion. Participants showed improvement in lesson structuring, integration of language and content objectives, and critical reflection on instructional design, while also reporting tensions related to overreliance on AI-generated suggestions. The study contributes theoretically by linking AI use to situated teacher learning, and pedagogically by clarifying how AI can be integrated into CLIL-based teacher education in ways that support, rather than replace, developing professional judgment.