Enjoyment and boredom in GenAI-mediated informal L2 speaking practices: The impact of gender, L2 proficiency, personal innovativeness, and GenAI competence

  • Hanwei Wu School of Foreign Studies, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Article ID: 2622
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/fes2622
Keywords: informal GenAI-mediated L2 speaking practice; enjoyment; boredom; individual differences

Abstract

The use of conversational GenAI tools for informal second language (L2) speaking practice has become increasingly popular, offering learners immersive interaction experiences. Enjoyment and boredom are key emotions influencing L2 performance and are closely tied to individual differences. This study examines how two traditional individual factors—gender and L2 proficiency—and two GenAI-related factors—personal innovativeness and GenAI competence—affect L2 learners’ enjoyment and boredom in GenAI-mediated informal speaking practices. A survey was conducted with 308 L2 majors from 18 Chinese universities who used conversational GenAI tools. The analysis, based on Partial Least Squares-SEM, revealed that male learners experienced higher levels of boredom, although gender did not affect enjoyment. Contrary to prior studies, L2 proficiency was found to have no impact on either enjoyment or boredom. Personal innovativeness positively predicted enjoyment and negatively predicted boredom, while GenAI competence only predicted enjoyment. These findings provide valuable pedagogical insights for L2 learners and teachers.

Published
2025-04-21
How to Cite
Wu, H. (2025). Enjoyment and boredom in GenAI-mediated informal L2 speaking practices: The impact of gender, L2 proficiency, personal innovativeness, and GenAI competence. Forum for Education Studies, 3(2), 2622. https://doi.org/10.59400/fes2622
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2025)
Section
Article

Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

[1]Fathi J, Rahimi M, Derakhshan, A. Improving EFL learners’ speaking skills and willingness to communicate via artificial intelligence-mediated interactions. System. 2024; 121: 103254. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2024.103254

[2]Huang F, Zou B. English speaking with artificial intelligence (AI): The roles of enjoyment, willingness to communicate with AI, and innovativeness. Computers in Human Behavior. 2024; 159: 108355. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2024.108355

[3]Mora JC, Mora PI, Bermejo MG. Speaking anxiety and task complexity effects on second language speech. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 2024; 34: 292–315. doi: 10.1111/ijal.12494

[4]Wang Y, Wu H, Wang Y. Engagement and willingness to communicate in the L2 classroom: Identifying the latent profiles and their relationships with achievement emotions. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 2024; 1–17. doi: 10.1080/01434632.2024.2379534

[5]Dörnyei Z. The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2005.

[6]Jiang Y, Dewaele JM. The predictive power of sociobiographical and language variables on foreign language anxiety of Chinese university students. System. 2020; 89(1): 102207. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2020.102207

[7]Dewaele JM, Macintyre P, Boudreau C, Dewaele L. Do girls have all the fun? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Theor. Pract. Sec. Lang. Acquisit. 2016; 2: 41–63.

[8]Amini Farsani M, Seyedshoja SS. Language Mindset, Anxiety, and Proficiency: What Does Path Analytic Approach Indicate? The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. 2025; 34: 327–336. doi: 10.1007/s40299-024-00857-y

[9]Qu K, Wu X. ChatGPT as a CALL tool in language education: A study of hedonic motivation adoption models in English learning environments. Education and Information Technologies. 2024; 29: 19471–19503. doi: 10.1007/s10639-024-12598-y

[10]Moorhouse BL, Wan Y, Wu C, et al. Developing language teachers’ professional generative AI competence: An intervention study in an initial language teacher education course. System. 2024; 125: 10339. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2024.103399

[11]Lee JS. Informal digital learning of English. Routledge Published; 2021.

[12]Guan L, Li S, Michelle Gu M. AI in informal digital English learning: A meta-analysis of its effectiveness on proficiency, motivation, and self-regulation. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence. 2024; 100323. doi: 10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100323.

[13]Liu G. Revisiting and measuring foreign language confidence from a world Englishes perspective: Scale development and validation. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 2024; 1–20. doi: 10.1111/ijal.12618

[14]Liu GL. Digital empowerment for rural migrant students in China: Identity, investment, and digital literacies beyond the classroom. ReCALL. 2025; 1–17. doi: 10.1017/S0958344024000302

[15]Mohr S, Ferrara L. Learning languages, being social setting the scene: Informal language learning and socialization in additional languages. In: Mohr S, Ferrara L (edirots). Informal language learning and socialization in additional languages. De Gruyter Mouton; 2024. pp. 1–16.

[16]Liu G. Review of the Book Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction (2nd edition). Journal of Second Language Writing. 2022; 58(100932): 1–3. doi: 10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100932

[17]Odo DM. Connecting informal and formal language learning. In: The handbook of informal language learning (Blackwell handbooks in linguistics). Wiley Blackwell Publishing; 2020. pp. 421–438.

[18]Liu GL, Zhang Y, Zhang R. Examining the relationships among motivation, informal digital learning of English, and foreign language enjoyment: An explanatory mixed-method study. ReCALL. 2024; 36: 72–88. doi: 10.1017/S0958344023000204

[19]Liu G, Zou M, Soyoof A, Chiu M. Untangling the relationship between AI-mediated informal digital learning of English (AI-IDLE), foreign language enjoyment and the ideal L2 self: Evidence from Chinese university EFL students. European Journal of Education. 2025; 60: 12846. doi: 10.1111/ejed.12846

[20]Wu H, Liu W, Zeng Y. Validating the AI-assisted second language (L2) learning attitude scale for Chinese college students and its correlation with L2 proficiency. Acta Psychologica. 2024; 248: 104376. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104376

[21]Liu GL, Zhao X, Yang B. The predictive effects of motivation, enjoyment, and self-efficacy on informal digital learning of LOTE: Evidence from French and German learners in China. System. 2024; 126: 103504. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2024.103504

[22]Wu H, Pan Z. What deserve studying the most? A Q methodology approach to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on research priorities in GenAI-supported second language education. European Journal of Education. 2025; 60: e12898. doi: 10.1111/ejed.12898

[23]Liu GL. Modeling L2 motivation change and its predictive effects on learning behaviors in the extramural digital context: A quantitative investigation in China. Linguistics Vanguard. 2024; 10: 335–343. doi: 10.1515/lingvan-2023-0145.

[24]Dewaele JM, Macintyre P. Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety. The right and left feet of FL learning? In: Gregersen T, MacIntyre PD, Mercer S (editors). Positive Psychology in SLA. Multilingual Matters; 2016. pp. 215–236.

[25]Dewaele JM, Alfawzan M. Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching. 2018; 8: 21–45. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.2

[26]Botes E, Dewaele JM, Greiff S. Taking stock: A meta-analysis of the effects of foreign language enjoyment. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching. 2022; 12: 205–232. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.2.3

[27]Zeng Y. A review of foreign language enjoyment and engagement. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.737613

[28]Wang Y, Derakhshan A, Pan Z. Positioning an agenda on a loving pedagogy in SLA: Conceptualization, practice, and research. Frontiers in Psychology. 2022; 13: 894190. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894190

[29]Wang M, Wang Y. A structural equation modeling approach in examining EFL students’ foreign language enjoyment, trait emotional intelligence, and classroom climate. Learning and Motivation. 2024; 86: 1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.lmot.2024.101981

[30]Zhang Z, Gao X. A longitudinal study of enjoyment and group-level emotion regulation in online collaborative English language learning. Learning and Motivation. 2024; 88: 102052. doi: 10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102052

[31]Wu H. Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners at the tertiary level: A pseudo-longitudinal investigation. Sage Open. 2024; 14: 21582440241285535. doi: 10.1177/21582440241285535

[32]Wu H, Wang Y, Wang Y. “To use or not to use?”: A mixed-methods study on the determinants of EFL college learners’ behavioral intention to use AI in the distributed learning context. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. 2024; 25: 158–178. doi: 10.19173/irrodl.v25i3.7708

[33]Lee JS, Lee K. The role of informal digital learning of English and L2 motivational self system in foreign language enjoyment. British Journal of Educational Technology. 2021; 52: 358–373. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12955

[34]Zhai X, Zhao R, Jiang Y, Wu H. Unpacking the dynamics of AI-based language learning: Flow, grit, and resilience in Chinese EFL contexts. Behavioral Sciences. 2024; 14: 838. doi: 10.3390/bs14090838

[35]Hill AB, Perkins RE. Towards a model of boredom. British Journal of Psychology. 1985; 76: 235–240. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1985.tb01947.x

[36]Larson RW, Richards MH. Boredom in the middle school years: Blaming schools versus blaming students. American Journal of Education. 1991; 99: 418–443. doi: 10.1086/443992

[37]Pekrun R. The control-value theory of achievement emotions: assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review. 2006; 18: 315–341. doi: 10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9

[38]Pekrun R, Goetz T, Frenzel A, et al. Measuring emotions in students’ learning and performance: The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). Contemporary Educational Psychology. 2011; 36: 36–48. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.002

[39]Li C. A control–value theory approach to boredom in English classes among university students in China. The Modern Language Journal. 2021; 105: 317–334. doi: 10.1111/modl.12693

[40]Wang Y. Probing into the boredom of online instruction among Chinese English language teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Current Psychology. 2023; 43: 1–15. doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-04223-3

[41]Zeng Y, Yu J, Wu H, Liu W. Exploring the impact of a supportive work environment on Chinese L2 teachers’ emotions: A partial least squares-SEM approach. Behavioral Sciences. 2024; 14: 370.

[42]Wu H, Zeng Y. A mixed-methods investigation into the interplay between supportive work environment, achievement emotions, and teaching for creativity as perceived by Chinese EFL teachers. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2024; 132(1). doi: 10.1177/00315125241272593

[43]Pawlak M, Derakhshan A, Mehdizadeh M, Kruk M. Boredom in online English language classes: mediating variables and coping strategies. Lang. Teach. Res. 2022. doi: 10.1177/13621688211064944

[44]Kruk M. Dynamicity of perceived willingness to communicate, motivation, boredom and anxiety in second Life: the case of two advanced learners of English. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 2022; 35: 190–216. doi: 10.1080/09588221.2019.1677722

[45]Chen W, Sun P, Yang Z. Understanding Chinese second language learners’ foreign language learning boredom in online classes: its conceptual structure and sources. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 2022; 45: 1–17. doi: 10.1080/01434632.2022.2093887

[46]Kruk M, Pawlak M, Elahi Shirvan M, et al. A longitudinal study of foreign language enjoyment and boredom: A latent growth curve modeling. Language Teaching Research. 2024. doi: 10.1177/13621688221082303

[47]Liu W, Wu H. Exploring the effect of demographic characteristics and personality traits on attitude toward AI-assisted second language learning among Chinese college students: A multiple regression analysis. Forum for Education Studies. 2024; 2: 1501. doi: 10.59400/fes.v2i3.1501

[48]Robinson, P. Individual differences and instructed language learning. John Benjamins Publishing Company; 2002.

[49]Sparks RL, Patton J, Ganschow L. Profiles of more and less successful L2 learners: A cluster analysis study. Learning and Individual Differences. 2012; 22: 463–472. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2012.03.009

[50]Sparks R, Dale P, Patton J. Individual differences in L1 attainment and language aptitude predict L2 achievement in instructed language learners. The Modern Language Journal. 2023. doi: 10.1111/modl.12841

[51]Öztürk G, Gürbüz N. The impact of gender on foreign language speaking anxiety and motivation. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2013; 70: 654–665. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.01.106

[52]Park GP, French BF. Gender differences in the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. System. 2013; 41: 462–471. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2013.04.001

[53]Dewaele JM, Macintyre P. The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching. 2014; 4: 237–274. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5

[54]Piechurska-Kuciel E. L2 or L3? Foreign language enjoyment and proficiency. In: Gabryś-Barker D, Gałajda D, Wojtaszek A, Zakrajewski P (editors). Multiculturalism, Multilingualism and the Self: Studies in Linguistics and Language Learning. Springer International Publishing; 2017. pp. 97–111.

[55]Kelsen BA. Exploring public speaking anxiety and personal disposition in EFL presentations. Learning and Individual Differences. 2019; 73: 92–101. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2019.05.003

[56]Qin F, Li W. Personality traits and foreign language anxiety: The mediating role of self-efficacy. Journal of Psychology in Africa. 2024; 34: 360–366, doi: 10.1080/14330237.2024.2371709

[57]Liu S. The effects of personality and self-perceived public speaking competence on public speaking anxiety in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) presentations. Current Psychology. 2024; 43: 30170–30179. doi: 10.1007/s12144-024-06638-6

[58]Dewaele JM, Macintyre P. The Predictive Power of Multicultural Personality Traits, Learner and Teacher Variables on Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety. In: Evidence-Based Second Language Pedagogy. Routledge; 2019. pp. 263–286.

[59]Wang YY. “Just learn it?” How individual differences and HMSAM impact learners’ intention to engage in AI-related education. Education and Information Technologies. 2025; 30: 959–983. doi: 10.1007/s10639-024-13199-5

[60]Agarwal R, Prasad J. A conceptual and operational definition of Ppersonal innovativeness in the domain of information technology. Information Systems Research. 1998; 9: 204–215.

[61]Klotz AC, Swider BW, Kwon SH. Back-translation practices in organizational research: Avoiding loss in translation. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2023; 108: 699–727. doi: 10.1037/apl0001050

[62]Bieleke M, Gogol K, Goetz T, et al. The AEQ-S: A short version of the achievement emotions questionnaire. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 2020; 101940. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101940.

[63]Agarwat R, Karahanna E. Time flies when you’re having fun: Cognitive absorption and beliefs about information technology usage. MIS Quarterly. 2000; 24: 665–694. doi: 10.2307/3250951

[64]Hair J, Hult GTM, Ringle C, Sarstedt M. A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). SAGE Publications Ltd; 2022.

[65]Yıldız O. PLS-SEM bias: Traditional vs consistent. Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology. 2023; 57: 537–552. doi: 10.1007/s11135-021-01289-2

[66]Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY, Podsakoff NP. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. The Journal of Applied Psychology. 2003; 88: 879–903. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

[67]Hair J, Black W, Babin B, Anderson R. Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective. Pearson Education Publishing; 2010.

[68]Bagozzi RP, Yi Y. On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 1988; 16: 74–94. doi: 10.1007/BF02723327

[69]Viladrich C, Angulo-Brunet A, Doval, E. A journey around alpha and omega to estimate internal consistency reliability. Anales de Psicologia. 2017; 33: 755–782. doi: 10.6018/analesps.33.3.268401

[70]Kline RB. Convergence of structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling. The SAGE handbook of innovation in social research methods. 2008; 562–589. doi:10.4135/9781446268261.n31

[71]Wang Y, Xue L. Using AI-driven chatbots to foster Chinese EFL students’ academic engagement: An intervention study. Computers in Human Behavior. 2024; 159: 108353. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2024.108353

[72]Vodanovich SJ, Kass SJ, Andrasik F, et al. Culture and gender differences in boredom proneness. North American Journal of Psychology. 2011; 13: 221–230.

[73]Jiang Y, Dewaele JM. How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners? System. 2019; 82. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2019.02.017

[74]Wu H, Zeng Y. Validating the Second Language Teaching for Creativity Scale (L2TCS) and applying it to identify Chinese college L2 teachers’ latent profiles. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 2025; 56: 101781. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101781