ICT-BASED IN-SERVICE EFL TEACHER TRAINING AND AI-READINESS:

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence and digital technologies has fundamentally redefined expectations for language teachers worldwide. The capacity of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into their practice has emerged not merely as a professional enhancement, but as a prerequisite for pedagogical relevance in AI-mediated environments. This imperative is particularly pressing in Algeria, where systemic constraints have historically limited teachers' exposure to technology-enhanced professional development. This paper examines, from a theoretical standpoint, the conditions under which ICT-based in-service EFL teacher training may effectively transform pedagogical beliefs and promote learners' academic performance within Algerian higher education. Drawing on an integrated multi-theoretical framework — encompassing the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge model (TPACK; Mishra & Koehler, 2006), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989), Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (1978), and Ertmer's first- and second-order barrier framework (1999, 2010) — the paper explores how these perspectives illuminate the mechanisms through which teachers construct and revise their beliefs about technology integration. It further argues that ICT-based training — when designed to address both infrastructural and belief-based barriers — holds significant potential for repositioning EFL teachers as agentic adopters of digital and AI-enhanced pedagogies. This argument is situated within broader discourses on digital equity, institutional change, and the ethical governance of AI in education, with particular attention to MENA and Global South contexts where such transformations remain undertheorized. Implications for EFL curriculum reform, teacher education policy, and the responsible integration of AI in language education are critically examined.