EFL Learners' Positive Emotions in the Era of Technology: Unpacking the Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Learning Enjoyment, Self-efficacy, and Resilience

Abstract

Exposing EFL learners to technology can develop their positive emotions in English language learning. This research examined the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Saudi Arabian EFL learners' enjoyment, self-efficacy, and resilience. Seventy students were selected; 35 were considered as the Control Group (CG), and 35 as the Experimental Group (EG). They were pretested by three scales of learning enjoyment, self-efficacy, and resilience. Next, the EG was trained in four lessons of National Geographic Learning via ChatGPT, while the same lessons were taught to the CG traditionally. After teaching all the classes, the two groups were administered the posttests of learning enjoyment, self-efficacy, and resilience. Finally, the gained data were analyzed using ANCOVA and independent samples t-tests. The findings indicated the EG outstripped the CG on all three posttests. Using ChatGPT as a sort of AI effectively improved EFL learners' enjoyment, self-efficacy, and resilience. The implications and conclusions of the study were explained.