“I prefer to stay within my comfort zone”: Exploring the causes and solutions of Iranian and Turkish EFL teachers' AI adoption reluctance

Research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and second/foreign language (L2) education has recently become a flourishing line of thinking. However, the psycho-affective states of teachers regarding AI tools have received insufficient scholarly attention. To address this void, this cross-cultural study examined the causes and solutions of Iranian and Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' AI adoption reluctance. A total of 40 EFL teachers participated in a semi-structured interview and composed a narrative frame. The results of inductive thematic analysis indicated that a wide range of factors had caused Iranian and Turkish EFL teachers' AI adoption reluctance. Additionally, the participants in both contexts suggested some solutions for AI adoption reluctance, which involved similarities and dissimilarities. The findings are discussed, and implications are provided for EFL teachers and educators to encourage their acceptance and adoption of AI technologies in L2 education. • This study was a cross-cultural study on Iranian and Turkish EFL teachers' AI adoption Reluctance. • The data obtained from interviews and narrative frames were analyzed thematically via MAXQDA. • The findings revealed a range of causes and solutions of AI adoption reluctance in both countries. • The study highlighted both similarities and dissimilarities among EFL teachers in both contexts.