Investigating the relationship between AI self-efficacy, AI anxiety, and gender among Turkish ELT students

This study examines how Turkish pre-service English language teachers feel about using artificial intelligence (AI) tools and how these beliefs are linked to their anxiety about AI. It also investigates whether male and female students differ in these perceptions. Participants were 143 undergraduate students enrolled in an English Language Teaching program at a public university. Two validated instruments were used to measure AI self-efficacy and AI anxiety, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t tests, correlation analysis, and simple linear regression. Overall, the students reported medium levels of both confidence and anxiety regarding AI. Male students tended to feel more capable of working with AI and reported lower anxiety compared with their female peers. A moderate negative correlation emerged between AI self-efficacy and AI anxiety, and AI self-efficacy significantly predicted anxiety levels, accounting for a meaningful proportion of the variance. These findings highlight the importance of developing teacher education curricula that enhance both the technical skills and emotional readiness of future English teachers to engage with AI-supported language learning environments.