Determinants of Digital Competence Among English Language Teachers in Indonesian Madrasahs

Digital competence seems to be important for teachers in today’s disruptive era. However, research on the determinants of digital competence among language teachers, especially in Islamic schools or madrasahs, remains scarce. This study investigates the determinants of digital competence among English language teachers in Indonesian madrasahs by examining the roles of pedagogical ability, digital learning motivation, digital literacy identity, and perceived barriers. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected via a 116-item questionnaire administered to 186 English teachers across multiple Indonesian regions and teaching-experience strata. After establishing internal consistency and construct validity, multiple regression analysis was employed to estimate the predictive contribution of each factor to teachers’ digital competence. The results indicate that digital literacy identity emerged as the most potent positive predictor, followed by digital learning motivation and pedagogical ability, while perceived barriers showed a small but negative association. These findings suggest that strengthening teachers’ identity as digitally capable professionals, alongside sustained motivational and pedagogical support, may be more impactful than focusing solely on technical training. The study contributes to applied linguistics and digital pedagogy by clarifying how identity- and motivation-related mechanisms shape the integration of technology in EFL teaching within faith-based, resource-diverse schooling contexts.