Volume 30 Number 1, 2026 Generative AI and metaverse in developing pre-service teachers’ content knowledge

Generative AI and metaverse in developing pre-service teachers’ content knowledge

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June 6, 2026, 1:26 a.m.
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June 8, 2026, 8:05 p.m.
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June 8, 2026, 8:05 p.m.
access-status:
open.access
bitstream:
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bitstream_txt:
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collection:
Volume 30 Number 1, 2026
contributor.author:
Lee, Seongyong Jeon, Jaeho
date.accessioned:
2026-06-05T01:16:11Z
date.available:
2026-06-05T01:16:11Z
date.copyright:
2026
date.issued:
2026-06-08
description.abstract:
Although essential for teachers’ professional development, developing content knowledge (CK) remains a challenge in pre-service language teacher education, where applied linguistics concepts are often perceived as disconnected from practice. While research on technology integration emphasizes pedagogical or technological knowledge (TK), little is known about how emerging tools can mediate CK development. Thus, this study implemented a design-based learning project: 23 pre-service English teachers used generative AI (GenAI) and the metaverse to design their brands and 3D showrooms, using applied linguistics concepts. Reflective journals and semi-structured interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis to explore how CK developed through TK and learner agency. The findings show that their CK was enhanced when applied linguistics knowledge was used to craft brands and showrooms through iterative design cycles. Agency mediated this process, as they calibrated the outputs and collaborated through distributed agency, using GenAI and metaverse affordances. Finally, reflective inquiry enhanced critical AI literacy, which supported CK development by prompting participants to work on GenAI-mediated decisions (e.g., reliability, bias, authorship, and inclusion) while designing their artefacts. The study discusses theoretical implications for affordance–agency mechanisms in technology-mediated learning and pedagogical implications for integrating GenAI-metaverse design and critical AI literacy in teacher education.
endingpage:
23
format.extent:
23
identifier.citation:
Lee, S., & Jeon, J. (2026). Generative AI and metaverse in developing pre-service teachers’ content knowledge. Language Learning & Technology, 30(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73690
identifier.doi:
https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73690
identifier.issn:
1094-3501
identifier.uri:
https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73690
language:
eng
number:
1
publicationname:
Language Learning & Technology
publisher:
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center Center for Language & Technology
rights.license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
rights.uri:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
site_url:
/item/10125-73690/
startingpage:
1
subject:
generative AI, pre-service teacher, content knowledge, technological knowledge, Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence (SQD)
title:
Generative AI and metaverse in developing pre-service teachers’ content knowledge
type:
Article Text
volume:
30