Artificial intelligence doesn't eliminate the need for strong language skills—it intensifies it.
Language-Matters ApproachAs universities rush to integrate AI into research and teaching, a critical gap emerges: most AI training assumes native-level English proficiency and cultural familiarity with academic communication norms.
For institutions serving international scholars, graduate programs with global recruitment, and departments committed to linguistic diversity, this oversight undermines AI's transformative potential.
Effective AI use in academic contexts requires sophisticated language skills—understanding rhetorical moves, evaluating generated text for disciplinary appropriateness, articulating complex research questions, and critically assessing AI outputs for linguistic accuracy. Without explicit language development support, AI tools can amplify existing inequities, privilege dominant linguistic norms, and leave multilingual scholars struggling to leverage technology that should enhance their work.
A language-informed approach to AI integration positions institutions to serve all scholars effectively while preparing graduates for AI-integrated careers in an increasingly multilingual, global landscape.
When faculty and students use AI for research writing, grant proposals, literature reviews, or teaching materials, they must:
Evaluate linguistic appropriateness for their discipline, audience, and purpose
Identify and correct genre-specific errors AI commonly makes
Prompt effectively using metalinguistic awareness (understanding how language works)
Recognize when AI outputs perpetuate problematic language ideologies or biases
Adapt AI-generated content to meet specific rhetorical situations
AI for Educators
Evidence-Based Professional AI & Language Development for Faculty & Staff
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This course introduces participants to the AI tools educators around the globe are using to support teaching, learning, and research in higher education. You’ll explore how these tools can be applied in different contexts—from classroom integration and course content support to research workflow—and learn to make informed decisions about when and how to use them. The focus is on practical strategies you can apply immediately to enhance teaching, student engagement, and research productivity.
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This course introduces educators to AI tools reshaping research writing in English. Participants will gain hands-on strategies to integrate AI ethically and effectively into their research workflows, from rigorous reference discovery to developing informed research questions and relevant outlines for any research writing project. Participants gain confidence and practical skills for applying AI to enhance research writing and strengthen scholarly impact. This course is particularly valuable for faculty mentoring junior scholars in these new technologies.
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Not all AI tools are designed for the same purposes. In this course participants learn strategic, AI-model specific writing steps to effectively tailor prompts for use with vetted AI tools suitable for teaching and research in higher education. Faculty gain access to a rich library of prompts designed for a range of research and teaching related tasks, learn informed tool selection, and how to effectively write prompts for AI tools that support a range of educator demands.
Your faculty are already encountering AI in classrooms, research, and administrative work. Give them the frameworks to engage strategically, ethically, and effectively.
This professional development series builds institutional capacity for responsible AI integration while reducing faculty anxiety and workload, without undermining faculty expertise, language development or academic integrity.
What Your Institution Gains
Read about the AI for Educators curriculum and its success at the University of California, Davis!
The AI for Educators Professional Course Series
Popular AI Tools in Education & Research
Faculty gain hands-on experience with AI tools reshaping teaching and scholarship in higher education. Through live demonstrations and guided practice, participants learn evaluation criteria, ethical integration strategies, and discipline-specific applications—from course design to research acceleration. Faculty explore practical applications, learn informed tool selection, and understand when, how, and critically when NOT to use specific technologies.
Outcomes: Immediate tool implementation, evaluation frameworks, institutional ethics guidelines
AI for Research & Writing in English
Particularly valuable for international faculty navigating publication. Demonstrates how AI can accelerate research and strengthen academic writing while maintaining scholarly integrity. Explores tools beyond ChatGPT that are reliable and rigorous for scholarly applications, across research writing projects and disciplines.
Outcomes: Informed and reduced publication timelines, enhanced research writing productivity, clear applications for scholarship across disciplines
Crafting Effective Prompts for AI-Powered Tools
Participants learn strategic, AI-model specific writing steps to effectively tailor prompts for use with vetted AI tools suitable for teaching and research in higher education. Faculty gain access to rich library of prompts designed for a range of research and teaching related tasks, learn informed tool selection, and how to integrate tools into their everyday educator workflow.
Outcomes: Shared institutional literacy, classroom and research-ready strategies, criteria for assessing quality and efficacy in prompt engineering for education
Flexible Implementation
Individual course or complete series delivery
Department-specific or university-wide rollout
New faculty orientation integration
Professional development week intensive
Multi-week series with reflection/practice time
Custom combination based on institutional priorities
Why a Language-Matters Approach Works
This professional AI training course is designed by a linguist and curriculum specialist who understands how adults acquire professional competencies. Not a tech vendor pitch—this is educator-to-educator guidance grounded in pedagogical principles, tested with international faculty cohorts, and aligned with institutional values around integrity and educator development.
For Administration:
Proactive institutional positioning on AI (leadership vs. reaction)
Risk mitigation around academic integrity
Faculty recruitment/retention tool
Evidence of strategic institutional vision
Tailored professional AI development that honors language diversity
For Departments:
Shared vocabulary for AI policy development
Consistent approaches to student AI use across courses
Documented professional development for promotion/tenure
Reduced time spent on individual trial-and-error
Tailored professional AI training that honors the disciplinary needs and goals of your department and faculty
For Faculty:
Practical skills to streamline course preparation
Research acceleration through ethical AI use
Confidence navigating rapidly evolving technology
Discipline-relevant AI training
English language development
For Students:
Faculty equipped with current technological literacy
Clear, reasonable policies around AI in coursework
Learning experiences preparing them for AI-integrated careers
Modeling of responsible, critical technology use for research and learning
💡 Individual Educators: Browse our self-paced courses for independent professional development you can complete on your own schedule.
Client Reviews
“The most useful course in recent memory. Thank you!”
— Senior Lecturer and participant in Popular AI Tools for Educators
“The teaching and presentation of materials is top-notch.”
— Senior Lecturer and participant in Popular AI Tools for Educators
“We love seeing how you’re integrating critical thinking and hands-on exploration of AI tools into your training. Empowering scholars to understand both the strengths and limitations of these technologies is such an important skill. Excited to see the impact of this series!”
— UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education
Meet Your Instructor
Meet Dr. Marinka Swift
I've spent 15+ years helping international educators navigate the exact challenges you're facing right now - from publishing in English to presenting research confidently to integrating AI tools without losing your authentic teaching voice.
Through my work designing professional English curriculum for UC Davis's Bolashak Scholars Program and training educators across diverse international contexts, I've learned what actually works for busy faculty juggling teaching, research, and professional development in a second (or third, fourth, fifth!) language. My course design is grounded in pedagogies and learning frameworks that center intersectional language identity and development, including Critical Language Awareness, Translanguaging, Inclusive Language Ideologies, Intercultural Competency Development, and Critical Pragmatics in teaching English for Research and Publication Purposes.
My approach is grounded in real experience: I'm a language learner myself (C2-level Italian, intermediate Spanish), I've taught everyone from high schoolers to university faculty, and my research on language and belonging directly informs the practical strategies I teach.
These courses distill everything I've learned into actionable frameworks you can implement immediately - whether you're preparing for your next conference presentation, drafting a research paper, or building your professional network in English.