Using ChatGPT as a “Friend” in reflective critical friendships

Abstract Reflective practice has long been regarded as a cornerstone of language teacher education and development, typically enacted through dialogue with trusted colleagues or critical friendships (CFs). Such human-to-human exchanges are grounded in trust, contextual understanding, and professional experience, and they play a central role in shaping teachers’ professional development. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, however, invites new possibilities for reflection by offering teachers instant access to dialogue that is probing, structured, and nonjudgmental. This study examines the potential of ChatGPT to act as a form of CF in reflective practice, comparing its contributions with those of human interlocutors. We consider benefits such as immediacy, breadth of perspectives, and creative provocation, alongside significant limitations, including the absence of trust, lived experience, and relational aspects. Ethical concerns, particularly those relating to bias, cultural representation, privacy, and the risk of over-reliance, are also foregrounded. We argue that while ChatGPT may usefully supplement reflective practice, especially for teachers with limited access to professional networks, it cannot replace the dialogic, situated, and relational qualities of human CF. We conclude by proposing that language teacher education should integrate critical AI literacy, ethical guidelines, and approaches that combine AI-mediated dialogue with human interlocutors. In doing so, reflective practice can be enriched rather than diminished by the limitations of ChatGPT.