Attitudes and Practices That Shape MA TESOL Students’ AI Literacy

Abstract This study aims to characterise AI literacy through an investigation of reported attitudes and AI practices for academic writing. 10 MA TESOL participants from one British and one Turkish university undertook interviews. The qualitative research, informed by an interpretivist paradigm, highlighted participants’ attitudes and lived experiences within their educational and cultural contexts. We analysed their perspectives across three dimensions: knowledge and use, evaluation of tools and outputs, and ethical issues. Findings reveal four categories of engagement, which are enthusiastic adopters, moderate enthusiasts, middle grounders, and sceptics. The results underscore the complexity of integrating AI into academic writing and highlight tensions between innovation, ethics, and identity, as well as risks of overuse and underuse. To consolidate a meaningful perspective on AI use, we identify one ‘middle grounder’ who combines knowledge with evaluation and a strong ethical stance that represents the optimal position among participants. We hold this participant as an exemplar of AI literacy and contrast her position with others. We highlight the need for individualised AI training for student writers and propose the four categories as a foundation for such training.