Reconceptualizing 21st-Century Skills for ELT in the Age of AI: A Systematic Literature Review and AI-Integrated Competency Framework
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21044940Keywords:
21st-century skills, artificial intelligence, ELT, AI literacy, human–AI collaborationAbstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping assumptions about knowledge production, cognition, and skill development in education, particularly through generative AI technologies that actively participate in writing, feedback, and interaction processes once considered exclusively human. While 21st-century skills have traditionally been framed through the 4Cs, this paradigm remains insufficient in AI-mediated learning environments, especially in English Language Teaching (ELT), where interaction, feedback, and language production are central to the learning process. This study aims to reconceptualize 21st-century skills in relation to AI and to propose a coherent framework for ELT. Adopting a systematic literature review design, the study draws on 46 empirical, conceptual, and framework-oriented studies identified through searches across Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, TR Dizin, and Google Scholar, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Through thematic synthesis, the study identifies five overarching themes and reveals three key insights including the inadequacy of 4Cs-based frameworks, the fragmented and instrumental use of AI in ELT, and the transformation of teacher agency. In response, the study proposes a framework of AI-integrated competencies comprising AI literacy, human-AI collaboration and prompt literacy, ethical-cognitive regulation, and teacher agency. The findings carry direct implications for ELT curriculum design, teacher education, and assessment, suggesting that AI literacy and human-AI collaboration must be cultivated as core, rather than supplementary, 21st-century competencies.
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