VietTESOL International Convention 2026

The increasing integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into teacher education has raised important questions about its role in fostering critical thinking among future teachers. This qualitative exploratory study investigates how pre-service English teachers perceive the role of GenAI in supporting their critical engagement during a digital pedagogy project, the critical thinking practices they employ when interacting with GenAI, and the factors influencing such engagement. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, project artifacts, and GenAI interaction logs from 12 pre-service English teachers enrolled in a technology-enhanced language teaching course. Findings indicate that participants primarily used GenAI to generate ideas and develop project solutions. While GenAI reduced the cognitive effort involved in developing solutions to pedagogical problems, its responses were often perceived as lacking contextual relevance and pedagogical feasibility. Participants reported engaging in critical thinking practices such as evaluating information accuracy, assessing feasibility, comparing outputs across AI tools, and adapting AI-generated content to specific teaching contexts. Factors facilitating critical engagement included pedagogical and contextual knowledge, prior experience with GenAI, motivation to improve project quality, and awareness of GenAI limitations, whereas overreliance on GenAI and limited experience with GenAI use. The findings suggest that critical engagement emerges through the continuous evaluation and adaptation of AI-generated responses rather than their passive acceptance, highlighting the importance of critical thinking for effective use of GenAI in teacher education.