RECALIBRATING AI ACCEPTANCE AMONG MID-TO-LATE-CAREER EFL TEACHERS THROUGH GUIDED AI ENGAGEMENT

Research has described EFL teachers’ views of artificial intelligence (AI), but less is known about how mid-to-late-career university teachers’ teaching-related, learning-related, and ethical perceptions change after guided classroom use. Eighteen university EFL teachers in Vietnam participated in a four-week intervention using human-reviewed, AI-supported teaching materials. AI acceptance was measured before and after the intervention, and post-intervention interviews were used to explain the quantitative patterns. The results showed an upward tendency in teaching-related perceptions. Learning-related perceptions showed no statistically detectable change, while ethical perceptions showed a statistically significant pre-post difference. Interview data were organised according to the three questionnaire domains to help explain the quantitative findings. Participants reported greater confidence in using AI for teaching, continued caution about student use, and more conditional judgments about responsible use. The findings suggest that AI acceptance among experienced teachers may change differently across teaching-related, learning-related, and ethical domains.