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Background <p>With the integration of Generative AI (GenAI) technology in language educational settings, the impact of GenAI tools has garnered increasing attention. Yet extant research has predominantly examined GenAI's cognitive impacts on learners' linguistic abilities, leaving the empirical landscape of learners' emotional experiences largely uncharted. This study, drawing on Positive Psychology, investigated the impact of GenAI tools on Chinese EFL students' foreign language enjoyment (FLE), as well as the roles of three factors—gender, English proficiency, and GenAI usage duration—on students' FLE.</p> Methods <p>A mixed-methods design was applied. Ninety-eight Chinese EFL university students completed the survey and 10 participated in the interview after the 12-week intervention. SPSS 24.0 was employed to perform descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA in sequence on the survey data, and the interview data were manually coded using thematic analysis.</p> Results <p>Findings indicated that participants reported medium level of FLE, and the FLE-teacher dimension was slightly higher than FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere. Among three influential factors examined, although neither gender nor English proficiency significantly influenced participants' FLE statistically, male participants exhibited a marginally higher level of FLE compared to their female counterparts. Noticeably, participants with relatively lower English proficiency levels tended to experience a slightly higher degree of FLE than those with higher English proficiency levels. However, this subtle intergroup difference did not reach statistical significance. Moreover, the duration of GenAI tool usage is shown to statistically impact the participants' FLE level, with six-month duration serving as a threshold at which participants' FLE undergoes a positive qualitative shift.</p> Conclusions <p>Participants generally perceived that GenAI tools fostered an enjoyable learning environment, but they also expressed concerns about potential over-reliance on GenAI technology and the possible erosion of their critical thinking abilities. The study recommends encouraging students to use GenAI tools for more than six months, enhancing female students' digital competence through learning tasks requiring cooperation between boys and girls, and designing more process-oriented tasks that require reflective thinking and sustained student engagement to strengthen critical thinking skills.</p>

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The impact of generative AI on foreign language enjoyment: the roles of gender, English proficiency and usage duration among Chinese EFL learners

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月28日

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  • Xiaojuan Yin,
  • Jing Ruan,
  • Wulin Ma

摘要

Background

With the integration of Generative AI (GenAI) technology in language educational settings, the impact of GenAI tools has garnered increasing attention. Yet extant research has predominantly examined GenAI's cognitive impacts on learners' linguistic abilities, leaving the empirical landscape of learners' emotional experiences largely uncharted. This study, drawing on Positive Psychology, investigated the impact of GenAI tools on Chinese EFL students' foreign language enjoyment (FLE), as well as the roles of three factors—gender, English proficiency, and GenAI usage duration—on students' FLE.

Methods

A mixed-methods design was applied. Ninety-eight Chinese EFL university students completed the survey and 10 participated in the interview after the 12-week intervention. SPSS 24.0 was employed to perform descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA in sequence on the survey data, and the interview data were manually coded using thematic analysis.

Results

Findings indicated that participants reported medium level of FLE, and the FLE-teacher dimension was slightly higher than FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere. Among three influential factors examined, although neither gender nor English proficiency significantly influenced participants' FLE statistically, male participants exhibited a marginally higher level of FLE compared to their female counterparts. Noticeably, participants with relatively lower English proficiency levels tended to experience a slightly higher degree of FLE than those with higher English proficiency levels. However, this subtle intergroup difference did not reach statistical significance. Moreover, the duration of GenAI tool usage is shown to statistically impact the participants' FLE level, with six-month duration serving as a threshold at which participants' FLE undergoes a positive qualitative shift.

Conclusions

Participants generally perceived that GenAI tools fostered an enjoyable learning environment, but they also expressed concerns about potential over-reliance on GenAI technology and the possible erosion of their critical thinking abilities. The study recommends encouraging students to use GenAI tools for more than six months, enhancing female students' digital competence through learning tasks requiring cooperation between boys and girls, and designing more process-oriented tasks that require reflective thinking and sustained student engagement to strengthen critical thinking skills.