With the rise of Gen AI and LLMs, teaching language, particularly writing, to English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) students has undergone significant changes. On one hand, with the executive order issued on April 23, 2025, the US government established a formal task force to advance artificial intelligence education for American youth. On the other hand, some universities are creating their AI policies to regulate their use. The panel will present a variety of pedagogical perspectives, including collaborative strategies in multilingual writing classrooms, ethical scaffolding of AI for language learning, the integration of AI in ESL/EFL writing development, and human-centered pedagogical frameworks for AI-enhanced instruction. Therefore, this panel moves policy talk into praxis, offering concrete, justice-oriented approaches that focus on sustainable pedagogy and educators’ evolving roles in AI-hyped contexts.

This panel will explore and build upon ongoing discussions in ESL/EFL teaching, focusing on sustainable pedagogy and the shifting roles related to educational justice in a changing world. Topics include: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies (2017) by Django Paris and H. Samy Alim, Teaching Students to Use AI Ethically & Responsibly: Exploring AI With Intentionality, Curiosity, and Care (2025) by Khan, Salman, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, James Marshall, and Meghan Hargrave, Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations (2013) by Suresh Caanagaragah, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI (2024) by Ethan Mollick, Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development (2006) by James P. Lantolf and Steven L. Thorne, The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications (1985) by Stephen D. Krashen, Interpretive Autoethnography (2017) by Norman K. Denzin, Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (2020) by Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert, the MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI (2023), AI and Writing(2023) by Sidney I. Dobrin, Teaching with AI (2024) by Bowen and Watson, and many others.

The panel includes four presenters, each speaking for 12 minutes, with the remaining time reserved for a session introduction, audience questions, interactions, and responses.

First, Ananta Khanal will introduce the panel and its members.

Then, Dibya Adhikari reimagines the multilingual writing classroom as a space of collaboration rather than a “contact zone,” using the ‘funds of knowledge framework.’ He highlights how English language learners' lived experiences and first-language resources can be valuable assets in teaching academic writing. By integrating AI with culturally sustaining, inquiry-based pedagogies, he shows how students can go beyond surface-level prompts to engage AI as an active partner in meaning-making. Therefore, the presenter offers ways for more critical, equitable, and authentic multilingual writing practices in the age of generative AI.

Next, Shekhar Pokhrel envisions a future where AI tools—such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Grok—are ethically and pedagogically integrated into second language (L2) pedagogy to support, rather than replace, human-centered learning. Drawing on sociocultural theory with ethical use of AI in teaching writing, the presenter shares his experience of using AI scaffolding ethically to activate multilingual learners’ full linguistic repertoires, engage in intercultural dialogue, and develop agency. Instead of resisting AI, the presenter shares his critical reevaluation strategies for its ethical potential to expand the possibilities of language learning in diverse, global classrooms.

And then, Prativa Poudel provides a balanced view by examining the positive role AI can play in ESL/EFL settings. Her presentation will highlight how AI-driven collaboration and understandable input can improve students’ critical thinking, expand their access to knowledge, and support the development of writing skills. The presentation will be divided into two parts: first, the background, which places AI within the broader history of resistance to and eventual acceptance of educational technologies; and second, practical strategies for incorporating AI as a supplementary collaborative tool in language classrooms. Therefore, the speaker aims to promote a balanced, thoughtful approach to AI—one that empowers both teachers and students' teaching-learning abilities by harnessing AI’s potential without replacing human-centered teaching.

Finally, Tara P. Adhikari reconceptualizes second language pedagogy as a form of ‘world-making’ to emphasize belonging, creativity, and intersubjective growth as central educational aims. Through reflexive inquiry, the presenter offers specific strategies for curriculum design, assessment, and teacher training. By integrating intelligent technologies, educators can shift AI from a disruptive force to a tool for genuine, human-centered learning. He will demonstrate how second language classrooms can become spaces of empowerment, resilience, and ethical engagement, enhancing the transformative power of pedagogy in an AI-rich world.