English speaking with artificial intelligence (AI): The roles of enjoyment, willingness to communicate with AI, and innovativeness

Abstract

The pervasive use of artificial intelligence (AI) among educational stakeholders has inevitably led to discussion around its influence on learning as well as users' continuance adoption. There is a dearth of studies that contextualize the use of AI in the English-speaking learning setting, and even fewer studies examined the roles of learners' emotions generated from AI usage in influencing their speaking practice. The current study was designed based on the Expectation Confirmation Model to investigate the impact of perceived enjoyment, willingness to communicate with AI, and innovativeness on influencing EFL learners' continuance learning intention with AI-enhanced tools, such as EAP Talk. Results from the structural equation modelling suggested EFL EAP Talk users perceived positively in AI affordances and wiliness to communicate with AI significantly influenced perceived usefulness and satisfaction, which further impacted their intentions to continue the usage. Moreover, the enjoyment they perceived is significantly associated with continuance intention, while the role of innovation was not suggested. The research model explained 88% of the variance for continuance behavioral intention. This study provides suggestions for policymakers, AI designers, and course instructors to innovate learning methods and strengthen supervision to enhance students’ language learning.