From Awareness to Practice: Exploring the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Secondary ESL Teachers in the Philippines Toward ChatGPT in Education

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT, has brought significant changes to educational practice. While research has largely emphasized student use, the perspectives of teachers, especially those in English as a second language (ESL) instruction, remain limited. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of 181 Filipino secondary ESL teachers in Zamboanga City regarding ChatGPT integration in language teaching. Using a descriptive-comparative quantitative design, data were gathered through the validated KAP-CQ39 instrument and analyzed via SPSS. The findings revealed that participants demonstrated a moderate level of knowledge, a somewhat positive attitude, and high positive usage of ChatGPT. Gender-based comparisons revealed no significant differences across the KAP dimensions. The item-level analysis highlighted the uneven awareness of ChatGPT’s features, ethical implications, and varied implementation in classroom settings. These findings suggest a growing interest among ESL educators in engaging with AI tools, although knowledge gaps and ethical uncertainties persist. The study highlights the need for targeted training, institutional support, and clear guidelines to foster the responsible and effective use of ChatGPT in language education. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of AI adoption in linguistically diverse educational contexts within the Philippine context.