This study explored Malaysian primary and secondary school ESL teachers’ perceptions of using artificial intelligence (AI) to support differentiated instruction (DI). It addressed three objectives: (1) to determine ESL teachers perceived AI’s support for DI; (2) to determine ESL teachers’ perceptions of AI’s support for each principle in DI; (3) to determine whether teaching experience influences ESL teachers perceived AI’s support for DI. This study employed quantitative survey design and collected data from 102 respondents through a structured questionnaire. A total of 100 valid responses were analysed after data screening. The instrument was validated by expert reviewers and demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for all constructs (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.88 to 0.91). Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that ESL teachers generally held positive perceptions of AI’s support for DI. Among the DI principles, AI was perceived as the most supportive in content differentiation, followed by product, process, and environment differentiations. One-way ANOVA revealed a significant difference in perceived AI’s support for DI based on teaching experience. Post hoc results revealed a non-linear trend between perceived AI’s support and teaching experience. In short, this study provides a valuable insight into the reality of incorporating AI into differentiated ESL lessons.
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