English-as-a-foreign language university instructors' perceptions of integrating artificial intelligence: A Turkish perspective

Abstract

Despite a growing interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration into English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) teaching, EFL instructors’ perceptions of integrating AI are yet to be explored. This study fills a major gap by investigating EFL instructors' perceived knowledge, skills, and practical use of AI in EFL teaching, as well as their related needs and challenges. 230 EFL instructors across Turkey attended this study. Data were collected through a scale developed for this study and semi-structured interviews. Using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework as the theoretical underpinning, this study presents EFL instructors' knowledge gaps. While the scale results revealed that EFL instructors had an average level of self-perceived competence in AI use for EFL teaching, the interview findings showed a lack of knowledge and skills among the instructors. They reported that they needed to improve the technical and pedagogical use of AI. They also mentioned several challenges, including problems with instructors, students, the syllabus, and AI itself. Therefore, based on the findings, practical suggestions are discussed concerning how professional development programs for EFL teachers may be developed to facilitate AI integration. Among them are providing training modules on choosing the relevant AI tools and prompt engineering specifically for EFL contexts.