The Role of Digital Literacy in Shaping EFL Teachers’ Attitudes Toward ICT Integration

This study investigates how digital literacy shapes English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitude toward ICT integration using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design with 48 in- service teachers in Türkiye. The findings highlight three key contributions. First, teachers demonstrated high levels of digital literacy alongside strongly positive attitudes toward ICT, with a significant positive correlation between the two variables (r = .663, p < .001), confirming digital competence as a critical enabler of ICT acceptance. Second, the study identifies a crucial gap between operational and pedagogical digital literacy: while teachers are confident in using ready-made tools, they face challenges in designing and adapting digital materials for instructional purposes. Third, ICT integration was found to be strongly shaped by contextual factors, including infrastructure, time constraints, and institutional support, with teacher motivation closely linked to student engagement. Importantly, both digital natives and immigrants exhibited similar needs and challenges, questioning generational assumptions about digital competence. Overall, by informing the design of a forthcoming digital literacy intervention tailored to EFL teachers’ differentiated needs and contexts, the study underscores that effective ICT integration requires not only digital literacy but also pedagogical competence and systemic support.