When the prompt teaches

emerging literacy practices with AI in language education

Abstract

This article investigates emerging literacy practices mediated by generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in language education, with a particular focus on the pedagogical role of prompts as discursive mediation devices. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2018; Monte Mor, 2013) and the multiliteracies perspective (Rojo, 2012; Kalantzis & Cope, 2025), the study problematizes the role of language technologies in reshaping teaching and learning practices within the Global South. A qualitative and exploratory approach is adopted, based on the analysis of simulated pedagogical interactions using generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT), observing how participants construct meaning, negotiate discourse, and mobilize diverse linguistic repertoires through textual commands. Preliminary findings indicate the potential of prompts as catalysts for authorship, agency, and creativity in the language learning process, while also revealing epistemological tensions between automated techniques and decolonial pedagogies. It is concluded that understanding prompts as critical literacy practices enables a redefinition of AI use in education, promoting a more equitable, dialogic, and context-sensitive approach to language teaching in sociocultural realities of the Global South.