Studies directly measuring WTC consistently report positive effects of AI on EFL learners' WTC across tool types, contexts, and age groups¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Studies that directly measured WTC consistently reported positive effects of AI use on EFL learners' WTC. → Zhang S 2026

Evidence¶

Zhang S 2026¶

Zhang S, Zou B, Liu Y, Chen Z and Yan R (2026) Impacts of artificial intelligence on willingness to communicate and its key antecedents in EFL contexts: a systematic review (2015–2026). Front. Educ. 11:1927432. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1927432

q3 · i? · review · r3

Thematic synthesis of the 73 included studies groups findings by inferential strength; the direct-impact category (26 studies per Table 4) reports that "studies that directly measured WTC consistently reported positive effects of AI" on EFL learners' WTC.

"First, studies that directly measured WTC consistently reported positive effects of AI, providing direct empirical support for the association between AI use and EFL learners’ WTC."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Does low-pressure practice with AI tools and other digital media raise learners' willingness to communicate in the L2? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 5 narrower claims that bear on it: 4 distinct studies (1 review, 1 associational, 1 qualitative, 1 design), q2–q3, 0 of 4 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• AI-WTC research in EFL contexts has expanded rapidly since 2021, concentrated in Asia and on generative AI chatbots — related
• Gameplay increased participants' willingness to communicate in English — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Participation in interpersonal audio discussions produced no statistically significant changes in overall willingness to communicate, though most students reported unchanged or increased WTC — reports the opposite
• English pronunciation self-efficacy partially mediates the association between GenAI-based pronunciation feedback perceptions and willingness to communicate, with the indirect effect accounting for 69.9% of the total effect — related
• AI use also carries negative outcomes: technical instability, negative emotional impacts, over-reliance, and contextual contingency — reports the opposite
• AI reduces foreign language anxiety and strengthens self-efficacy and self-confidence, supporting the Affective Foundation Pathway — related
• English pronunciation self-efficacy is strongly and positively associated with willingness to communicate in English among Chinese EFL learners — related
• GenAI feedback perceptions, pronunciation self-efficacy, and WTC are all positively intercorrelated, and learners report positive feedback perceptions and moderate self-efficacy and WTC — related
• Chinese EFL learners' positive perceptions of GenAI-based pronunciation feedback are positively associated with their English pronunciation self-efficacy — related