Exploring Myanmar EFL Teachers’ Perceptions, Practices and Challenges Toward the Use of AI Writing Tools
AI tools are becoming increasingly widespread in EFL classrooms as AI-powered applications support students in various aspects of language learning. Consequently, many EFL teachers are adapting to and embracing AI as a practical aid in their teaching. However, teachers' perceptions of AI writing tools vary based on their experiences and prior knowledge. While most EFL teachers view AI writing tools positively, some remain skeptical due to potential drawbacks. Several challenges hinder the integration of AI writing tools into teaching practices, necessitating further exploration of teachers’ perspectives and experiences. This study investigates Myanmar EFL teachers’ perceptions of AI writing tools, their integration into teaching practices, and the challenges encountered in their use. A phenomenological research design was adopted, and qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten Myanmar EFL teachers. While AI writing tools are perceived as beneficial for both students and teachers, concerns remain about their potential negative impact on students' writing skills and overall language development. The findings reveal that Myanmar EFL teachers’ positive perceptions of using AI writing tools include time-saving, assisting students, being helpful for teacher and students’ writing improvement, being beneficial for accuracy and providing feedback, being useful for self-independence learning, effectiveness, and the impact on assessment. On the other hand, some of the EFL teachers in Myanmar highlighted the negative perceptions of using AI writing tools, such as plagiarism commitment, affecting students’ critical thinking skills, activity, students’ willingness, students’ autonomy, and invalidation information. In addition, teachers integrate AI
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writing tools in their teaching practices for preparing students’ career readiness, empowering learning assistance, facilitating the learning process, sourcing writing materials, lesson planning and students’ assessment. Additionally, teachers face significant challenges in integrating AI writing tools due to issues such as internet instability, power outages, restricting access features, time consuming, information repetition and excessing, students’ difficulty of understanding the information and topic and teachers’ difficulty for assessing students’ abilities. This study provides insights into the role of AI writing tools in EFL instruction and highlights the need for improved technological infrastructure and teacher training to maximize their effectiveness.
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