Artificial intelligence (AI) anxiety and usage intention in English teaching: insights from Chinese EFL pre-service teachers

Purpose As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, understanding the anxiety associated with AI and its impact on pre-service teachers' intentions to adopt such technologies is essential for successful implementation in educational settings. This study explores how AI learning anxiety and AI sociotechnical blindness anxiety influence the intention to use AI, with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use serving as mediating factors. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative research design, the study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from 307 Chinese pre-service English teachers through surveys. Findings The findings indicate that both forms of AI anxiety significantly influence the intention to use AI through perceived usefulness in the context of English teaching. Furthermore, perceived ease of use not only directly affects perceived usefulness but also plays a crucial role in enhancing the intention to adopt AI. Originality/value This research contributes to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by incorporating anxiety-related variables, offering insights into the factors that affect pre-service teachers' intention to integrate AI into their teaching practices. Addressing these concerns is vital to alleviating hesitation and promoting the adoption of AI in educational environments.