Unequal Access to AI Tools: Implications for Equity and Access among Moroccan ESP Teachers

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is used by language teachers to prepare lessons, generate specialized vocabulary, design communicative tasks and provide writing feedback. This study examines whether differentiated access to ChatGPT may create professional inequities among Moroccan teachers of English for Specific purposes (ESP). The study combines an online questionnaire completed by 24 Moroccan ESP teachers with an illustrative same-prompt comparison of ChatGPT Free and Chat GPT Plus across four teaching tasks: business email writing, medical vocabulary explanation, corrective feedback and communicative task design. The questionnaire findings indicate that AI tools have become a regular part of the participants’ professional practice as they reported that these tools help reduce the time required for lesson planning and task preparation. At the same time, concerns emerged about unequal access to paid AI services. In the comparative analysis, each ChatGPT plan was capable of assisting with common ESP teaching tasks. However, the Plus version produced more developed responses and classroom-ready materials. This paper argues that equity in AI-supported teaching depends on access and AI literacy and that institutional provision and sustained professional development are needed to prevent a new form of professional digital divide among teachers.