Digital Readiness and Barriers to Artificial Intelligence Integration for English Teachers in Indonesian Madrasahs

Vollständiger Abstract

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers strong potential to enhance teaching and learning activities in English Language Teaching. However, English teachers in Indonesian madrasahs, Islamic secondary schools, frequently face challenges due to limited digital resources and access while also working within strong institutional and religious values. This study explored how English teachers in Indonesian madrasahs perceived, used, and negotiated AI within their pedagogical practices. This interpretive qualitative case study involved four English teachers from two Madrasah Aliyah (Islamic senior secondary schools) in Lampung Province, Indonesia, representing urban and rural contexts. Data were generated through individual semi-structured interviews and non-participant classroom observations, then analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes emerged. First, teachers regarded AI as a useful but carefully mediated resource for lesson planning, language feedback, and activity design. Second, unstable connectivity, outdated devices, uneven digital competence, and limited institutional training restricted sustained classroom integration. Third, teachers responded pragmatically through familiar digital tools, peer collaboration, and self-directed learning while retaining responsibility for content accuracy, student autonomy, and alignment with madrasah values. The findings show that AI adoption in madrasah ELT is not a straightforward technological transition but a situated negotiation among pedagogical possibilities, structural inequalities, professional agency, and institutional values. Context-sensitive professional development and reliable infrastructure are therefore essential for equitable and responsible AI integration.