Q1. AI literacy

1.     Do you use any AI Tools to support your English language teaching?

2.     What AI Tools or Platforms do you use in your teaching?

3.     For what kind of English language lessons have you found them most useful?

4.     Have you received any training or guidance on using AI Tools in the classroom? not really. By herself.

5.     How confident are you in using AI tools in your classroom?

1.     In your opinion, what are the benefits of using AI in English language teaching?

2.     What challenges do you face when using AI in the classroom?

3.     Has using AI tools made your work easier or was it more challenging?

4.     How would you support and encourage your students to integrate AI into their studies?

5.     Are you satisfied with the support you are given by the administration for using AI tools in your language classroom?

6.     What kind of support or training do you need to integrate AI into your teaching?

7.     Do you think that AI technology will play a major role in ESL teaching in Sri Lanka?

PGIE/ TESL/24/D133 W.D.A.Wijayarathne

PGIE/ TESL/24/D119 A.M. Upananda

PGIE/ TESL/24/D025 Dimitri Michael Cooray

PGIE/ TESL/24/D018 K.Baminy

Teaching Experience : 29 years

School Type : International School

Level Taught : Undergraduate

Technology Access : Good

Familiarity With AI : Moderate

AI tools used : Chatgpt, Grammarly , Zoom platform

Training received : No

Teaching Experience : 24 years

School Type : International School

Level Taught : Master's Degree Holder

Technology Access : Good

Familiarity With AI : Moderate

AI tools used : Chatgpt, Grammarly , Zoom platform

Training received : No

This study aims at

01 - What is the current level of AI literacy among Sri Lankan ESL teachers?

 02 - How do Sri Lankan ESL teachers perceive the potential benefits and challenges of integrating AI tools into their teaching practices?

·         Methodology:

o    A qualitative study was conducted and data was collected from a structured interview with 2 ESL teachers from diverse teaching contexts. The interviews were designed to ensure consistency and make it easier to compare responses across participants.

o    Data analysis revealed patterns in:

§  AI awareness

§  Tool usage

§  Need for professional support

• Develop clear guidelines for when and how to use AI responsibly in classrooms

• Encourage schools and universities and their administration to support AI use with digital resources and infrastructure

• Urge the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka to fund rural schools in their AI technological aspirations

• Conduct awareness programmes for senior teachers with the aim to change their perception of AI and its use in teaching.

• Luckin et al. (2016) stresses the importance of teaching students not only how to use AI tools but also how to critically evaluate their output, understand their limitations, and apply ethical considerations, ensuring that learners remain active, independent thinkers rather than passive recipients of AI-generated content.

Hence, educate students on ethical use of AI, limitations of AI tools and developing their own thinking while using AI as a support.

o Lesson planning

o Developing teaching materials

o Content creation

o Preparing prompts and interactive learning tasks

• It mainly helps skills such as grammar, writing and vocabulary and speaking

• As Dincer & Bal (2024) states, teachers believe AI can make lessons more interactive and personalized.

• It reduces teacher workload in repetitive tasks such as checking grammar, and creating practice materials.

• AI tools are readily available as long as there is working internet connection.

• In addition, rural teachers and schools with limited infrastructure struggle with reliable internet and devices to use AI tools.

• Many ESL teachers in Sri Lanka are unaware of how to use AI in education effectively and have not received formal training on AI tools or digital pedagogy.

• As Fakhar et al. (2024) pointed out, young teachers aged between 20 to 40 years are more familiar with AI concepts. Millennials exhibit a more favourable outlook towards embracing new technology.

• Senior teachers perceive that traditional methods are more favourable over integrating AI as they find it challenging. In contrast, novice teachers understand the power of AI and wish to update themselves constantly.