ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Reconsidering the Role of L2 Self Motivational and Affective Factors in AI-Mediated Informal Digital Learning of English: A Mixed-Methods Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1City University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR China
- 2China West Normal University, Nanchong, China
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: Growing scholarly interest has emphasized the significance of non-cognitive variables in influencing learners' informal English acquisition through artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced digital platforms. Despite this, research remains sparse on how motivational constructs, emotional responses, particularly enjoyment, and anxiety resulting from AI-assisted learning (AAL), and participation in AI-mediated informal digital English learning (AI-IDLE) collectively contribute to learners' self-efficacy beliefs in speaking English as a foreign language (EFL). Methods: Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, this study surveyed 308 EFL secondary students in China, followed by in-depth interviews with eight voluntary respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis involving both open and axial coding procedures. Results: Path results demonstrated that AAL negatively predicted EFL learners' AI-IDLE engagement. However, AI-IDLE exerted no statistically significant influence on students' self-reported self-efficacy in spoken English. Notably, enjoyment emerged as a mediator in the paths from the ideal second language (L2) self to both AI-IDLE and self-efficacy beliefs in speaking capacity. Qualitative data based on narrative descriptions evinced the heterogeneity of motivational and emotional factors of students operating in AI-supported informal learning situations. Discussion: Through a combination of quantitative results with interpretative reflections, this study presents some useful guidelines for maximizing student participation with respect to AI-IDLE, ensuring AI literacy, and protecting their emotional well-being through the rapidly developing environment of generative AI.
Keywords: Anxiety, Artificial intelligence-mediatedlanguage learning, enjoyment, informal language learning, Positive Psychology
Received: 31 Aug 2025; Accepted: 04 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Li and Yan. 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: Haomin Li
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.