Using intelligent personal assistants as conversational partners in informal digital learning of English: revisiting EFL learners’ willingness to communicate

The integration of Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) into informal digital learning environments has opened new avenues for enhancing L2 learners’ spoken language engagement. This mixed-methods study explores the impact of interaction modality—Human–Human Interaction (HHI) versus Human–Google Assistant Interaction (HGI)—on Iranian adult EFL learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in English within an Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) context. Sixty pre-intermediate learners were randomly assigned to either group and participated in eight structured, task-based online speaking sessions over three weeks. The HGI group completed the tasks through voice interaction with Google Assistant, while the HHI group performed comparable tasks with human partners. ANCOVA results revealed significantly greater WTC gains in the HGI group, with no significant gender effects. Thematic analysis of post-intervention interviews indicated that learners in the HGI group perceived Google Assistant as a low-stakes, responsive, and nonjudgmental conversational partner that enhanced motivation, reduced anxiety, and supported self-regulation. These findings, interpreted through interactionist, sociocultural, and affective-motivational lenses, underscore the pedagogical value of IPA-mediated interaction in promoting oral language use in informal digital contexts. Nonetheless, learners reported occasional speech recognition errors and technical limitations, highlighting the need to address such challenges for more effective implementation.