2026-10-15T01:36:10Z https://www.scidb.cn/oai

10.57760/sciencedb.38358 2026-06-08T14:38:20Z

2026-06-08 From Language Anxiety to Situated Communicative Agency: The Role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Promoting the Willingness to Communicate among Junior Secondary School Learners doi:10.57760/sciencedb.38358 en Although generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in language education, empirical evidence on voice-based GenAI-supported oral practice among K–12 learners remains limited, particularly regarding affective readiness and learner agency in spoken interaction. To address this gap, the relationship between voice-based GenAI-supported oral practice, willingness to communicate (WTC), foreign language anxiety (FLA), and perceived communicative control was examined among junior secondary EFL learners. An embedded mixed-methods quasi-experimental design was adopted with two intact Grade 9 classes in China. The experimental group engaged in Qwen3-Omni-supported oral practice, while the control group completed comparable peer-based speaking activities with matched topics, duration, frequency, and teacher guidance. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to measure classroom-oriented WTC and classroom-related FLA, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected students from the experimental group. The results indicated that students in the GenAI-supported group reported increased WTC and reduced FLA after the intervention, whereas no statistically significant pre–post changes were observed in the control group. Post-test comparisons also showed higher WTC and lower FLA in the GenAI-supported group. Interview findings further suggested that learners perceived GenAI-supported practice as a low-pressure and controllable rehearsal environment, although classroom transfer and possible dependence on AI-generated support remained concerns. Voice-based GenAI may therefore serve as a teacher-guided supplementary rehearsal space for adolescent EFL learners, supporting self-reported affective readiness and situated communicative control under structured task conditions. Generative AI; K-12 Education; Communicative Agency; Willingness to Communicate; Foreign Language Anxiety; AI-Mediated Oral Practice Zhongchuan Deng Yang Liu RESTRICTED dataset Science Data Bank