Hong Tang, Qian Wang, Qiuxia Xie, Zhengyun Yang, Jinrong Qi, Jiaqi Feng, Guangyuan Li, Yu Jin

Hong Tang

August 23, 2026

AI (Artificial Intelligence) empowerment, English teaching in higher vocational colleges, Innovative practices.

With the rapid development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, a wave of technological integration and pedagogical transformation has swept through the global education area. International researchers increasingly highlight the benefits of AI in education, but studies on its application in public courses of vocational education remain limited and insufficient consideration was given to potential adverse effects. Domestic research lags behind international standards, particularly the innovative practices of AI empower English teaching in higher vocational colleges. The objectives of this study involve 60 English teachers from 60 vocational colleges in Yunnan Province’s “Teacher Quality Enhancement Program Training Project in 2025: Public Foundation Teaching Competency Improvement (Higher Vocation – English)” program, they represent diverse educational backgrounds, professional titles, come from different schools, and have different teaching workloads. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Results indicated that over half of the teachers frequently employed AI tools in English courses, and the highest adoption rates observed in speaking, writing, and translation classes. Although AI enhanced teaching efficiency and enriched instructional resources in English teaching, it also posed challenges such as students’ excessive reliance and it restricted teaching autonomy. The majority of teachers agreed to acquire AI-related skills and participate in relevant training, more than half them supported the inclusion of AI technology in college English curricula.

© 2026, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license