Investigating the integration of artificial intelligence in English as foreign language classes for enhancing learners' affective factors: A systematic review

Abstract

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications into language learning and teaching is currently a growing trend in higher education. Literature reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of AI applications in improving English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) learners' receptive and productive skills, vocabulary knowledge, and intercultural competencies. However, systematic reviews investigating the usefulness of AI technologies in higher education to enhance EFL learners' affective factors are scarce. This study is a systematic review that investigates the effectiveness of integrating AI technologies to enhance EFL learners' motivation, engagement, and attitude, and reduce their learning anxiety. Articles from reputable journal databases such as IEEE, Wiley, Web of Science, Sage, ProQuest, Springer, and Science Direct were screened by examining titles and abstracts, and irrelevant articles were excluded from the search. Of the 64 articles analyzed only 21 articles published between 2017 and 2023 were determined to be relevant to the research topic. The findings suggest that the implementation of AI technologies in EFL contexts is in its early stages, and further research is required to establish the impact of AI-integrated classes on EFL learners' affective factors. This review also identifies the gaps in literature and recommends avenues for future research in this novel area.

Keywords: Affective factors; Artificial intelligence; English as a foreign language; Higher education.