Generative AI for higher education language teachers: Evaluating materials creation and addressing concerns via an interactive digital escape room.

Advances in the functionality and accessibility of generative AI (GenAI) chatbots make them an appealing option to assist time-pressed teachers. However, growing concerns about the effectiveness, ethics, and reliability of GenAI have led to scepticism among educators. Although previous studies have explored GenAI in higher education, few focus on its use for materials development, with limited qualitative data available on teachers' concerns regarding the technology. Additionally, GenAI’s role in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) contexts remains underexplored. This paper addresses these gaps by employing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, starting with a quantitative phase followed by qualitative data collection. An interactive digital escape room (H5P) was created to encourage GenAI use for lesson planning. Participants completed tasks, including generating a warmer activity, reading text, and comprehension questions, using a GenAI chatbot. They then assessed the materials' quality and usability via a questionnaire. This phase led to follow-up focus groups and interviews to explore teachers' experiences and concerns in depth. The escape room received positive feedback from participants, but the study also highlighted GenAI’s limitations, such as the need for careful prompting, human oversight, and further training. The escape room activity demonstrated potential as a teacher training tool to promote effective GenAI use.