From instant feedback to differentiated reading texts, we surveyed 200 ESL teachers to find out exactly how they're integrating AI into daily lessons — and what's working.
We asked 200 English language teachers how they're actually using AI in their classrooms — not how they think they should be using it, but what they're doing right now, every week. The results were more varied and more practical than we expected.
The most common use, cited by 68% of respondents, was generating differentiated materials. Teachers described using AI to take a single reading text or grammar exercise and produce multiple versions at different CEFR levels — allowing them to run mixed-ability classes without preparing entirely separate lessons.
The second most common use (54%) was writing feedback. Rather than commenting on every student essay themselves, many teachers are now using AI to generate a first round of language-focused feedback, which they then review and personalise. "It catches things I might miss when I'm tired," said one respondent. "And it frees me up to focus on content and ideas rather than grammar."
Third on the list (47%) was conversation practice. Several teachers described setting up AI chatbots for students to practise speaking topics between lessons — especially useful for one-to-one students who don't have English-speaking environments outside class.
Coming in fourth (39%) was lesson planning. Teachers reported using AI to generate activity sequences, warm-up ideas, and discussion questions — treating it as a "brainstorming partner" rather than a plan generator.
Finally, 31% reported using AI for assessment design: creating quiz questions, gap-fill exercises, and rubrics that they then adapted for their specific classes. The consistent theme across all five uses was that AI works best when teachers remain in editorial control — generating options rather than final outputs.
