Relationship between Technology Acceptance and Technology Anxiety among Iranian EFL Learners

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has caused unforeseen interruptions in education worldwide. Many countries have responded to the pandemic crisis by switching to online distance education. To address this need, the current study examined the relationship between technology acceptance and technology anxiety in the EFL context of Iran. Study participants included 116 Iranian students enrolled in B.A. English language courses in English language teaching, translation, and literature at Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch. The data were derived from Abdul Ghani et al. 's technology acceptance questionnaire (2019) and Loyd and Gressard's (1984) technology anxiety questionnaire. After analyzing the data, the results demonstrated a significant negative correlation between technology acceptance, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, behavioral intention to use, attitude, and technology anxiety. An increase in technology acceptance and its components led to a decrease in technology anxiety, and perceived ease of use was the strongest component of technology acceptance to predict technology anxiety. Moreover, the first feature of technology acceptance was perceived ease of use, and the last feature was the behavioral intention to use it. Participants’ major was not a meaningful mediator affecting the relationship between technology acceptance and technology anxiety. Therefore, minimizing technology anxiety and optimizing the effectiveness of technology in educational contexts requires teachers, students, and curriculum designers to consider students' readiness and acceptance of technology.

Relationship between Technology Acceptance and Technology Anxiety among Iranian EFL Learners Keywords:

technology acceptance , Technology Anxiety , Technology Integrated Classrooms