Dynamics of L2 writer agency in the AI-supported multilingual writing context: an ecological perspective

Drawing on the ecological framework of agency, this study investigates how L2 university students exercise writer agency in English expository writing within multilingual and AI-supported contexts, focusing on how learners mobilise linguistic and technological affordances during writing. Data were collected from three Chinese EFL students through screen recordings, stimulated recalls, semi-structured interviews and written drafts. Qualitative thematic analysis examined the dynamics of L2 writer agency across the writing process. The findings revealed a dynamic AI-supported writing process in which L2 writer agency was enacted through learners’ continued coordination of linguistic, technological and other available resources while they maintained involvement in meaning-making and writing decisions. In these cases, differences in L2 writer agency could not be understood simply in terms of the extent of AI use. Learners’ past experiences, future-oriented goals, and present practical-evaluative judgments were associated with different ways in which writer agency was enacted during writing. This study extends an ecological understanding of L2 writer agency to AI-supported multilingual writing by highlighting its dynamic, temporal and context-dependent nature. The findings suggest that AI-supported L2 writing pedagogy should focus not simply on AI use, but on learners’ ability to critically draw on available support while retaining control over their writing.