ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1568239
The Human Touch in AI: Optimizing Language Learning through Self-Determination
Provisionally accepted
Yi Ma1*
Mingyang Chen2- 1Foshan University, Foshan, China
- 2University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming language education, yet its long-term impact on motivation and proficiency, particularly how AI-driven gamification and teacher scaffolding interact in culturally distinct EFL contexts, remains underexplored. This study investigates the sustained influence of AI-powered language games on Chinese EFL learners' motivation, engagement, and English proficiency. Methods: This mixed-methods, longitudinal quasi-experimental study involved 150 intermediate Chinese EFL learners across three universities. Participants were stratified into three groups: AI with teacher scaffolding, AI only, and a control group using non-AI gamified platforms. Over 16 weeks, we collected quantitative data (IELTS Indicator tests, motivation and technology acceptance surveys) and qualitative data (interviews, observations, and reflective journals).Results: Quantitative analyses revealed that the AI with Scaffolding group achieved significantly greater and more sustained proficiency gains than both the AI Only and Control groups. Motivation was significantly mediated by the satisfaction of Self-Determination Theory needs. Qualitative findings highlighted teacher scaffolding's pivotal role in contextualizing AI feedback, mitigating algorithmic rigidity, and fostering a "novice-to-self-regulated learner" trajectory. Cultural factors significantly influenced technology acceptance.Discussion: Findings underscore that AI's potential in language learning is maximized when strategically integrated with human pedagogical expertise, which addresses AI's limitations related to cultural nuances, overcorrection, and trust. This study offers concrete practical implications for educators and institutions, advocating for a balanced, human-centered approach to AI integration in diverse EFL contexts.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, Language education, Gamification, Teacher scaffolding, self-determination theory, Motivation, language proficiency
Received: 29 Jan 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yi Ma, Foshan University, Foshan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.