Indonesian EFL Pre-service Teachers' Motives and Practices in Applying ChatGPT as a SupportiveTool During Teaching Practicum

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT, has increasingly influenced the education sector. However, there is still limited research examining the motives underlying Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers' use of ChatGPT during teaching practicum and how they apply it across different school contexts. This study aimed to investigate (1) the internal, external, and instrumental motives influencing Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers' use of ChatGPT during teaching practicum and (2) how they used ChatGPT as a supportive tool in rural and urban schools. This qualitative study employed thematic analysis involving four EFL pre-service teachers who had completed their teaching practicum in senior high schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis. The findings revealed that ChatGPT use was shaped by three interconnected categories of motives: internal motives related to independent AI adoption and student-driven motivation, external motives associated with social influence and facilitating conditions, and instrumental motives grounded in perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, with instrumental motives emerging as the most prominent. ChatGPT was used for instructional planning, teaching support, assessment, instructional content analysis, reflective practice, and selective non-use. Although participants from rural and urban schools shared similar motives, their practices differed according to contextual and institutional conditions. Overall, ChatGPT integration during teaching practicum is shaped by the interaction between contextual conditions, motives, and teaching practices.