Assessing the effects of GenAI feedback practices on multilingual learners’ writing enjoyment and writing growth mindset: a longitudinal intervention study

Building upon self-determination theory and control-value theory, this study investigated the impact of GenAI feedback practices on multilingual undergraduate students' writing enjoyment and writing growth mindset during a 12-week argumentative English writing course. A total of 112 first-year undergraduate students from two intact classes participated in the study. One class was assigned to the GenAI group and the other to the control group. Both groups received identical writing instruction; however, students in the GenAI group were permitted to use GenAI tools to obtain feedback on their writing drafts, whereas those in the control group revised their drafts independently without AI-assisted feedback. Writing enjoyment and writing growth mindset were assessed at three time points: pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. Employing a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, we used a linear mixed-effects modelling approach to analyse the quantitative data. The findings indicated no statistically significant Group × Time interaction effects for either writing enjoyment or writing growth mindset between the GenAI and control groups. However, learners in the GenAI group exhibited more favourable developmental trajectories than those in the control group. The study extends current research on GenAI-mediated L2 writing beyond linguistic performance to highlight its potential impact on learners' affective and belief-related development.