VietTESOL International Convention 2026

Engaging in academic research is an important part of tertiary teachers’ ongoing professional development, and the emergence of generative AI-driven tools has changed the way the research is conducted. While recent studies have focused mainly on the uses and impacts of generative AI (GenAI) on English language teaching and learning, there remains a significant gap in exploring teachers’ integration of generative AI-driven tools in the process of doing academic research. This research, therefore, aims to investigate how university lecturers adopt GenAI tools in their research practices. Using semi-structured interviews with six university EFL instructors teaching in public universities in Ho Chi Minh City, the results indicate that university teachers use Gen AI tools for different purposes at different stages during the process of conducting research. Although expressing positive attitudes towards these tools, teachers still raise concerns in terms of ethics and the level of precision. Finally, teachers are autonomous in their adoption decisions but are still partially influenced by the community's use of this advancement, and acknowledge a perceived risk of disadvantage associated with non-use. This study also offers insights into the evolving role of generative AI to support teachers’ research practices.