ABSTRACT The rapid development of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has expanded opportunities for self‐directed English learning beyond the classroom, yet learners’ participation in informal digital learning of English (IDLE) remains uneven. Drawing on the proactive language learning theory, this study examines how social support and resilience jointly shape learners’ participation in IDLE (i.e., receptive IDLE, productive IDLE, and AI‐IDLE). Survey data were collected from 406 multilingual university students in the Uzbekistani EFL (English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language) context and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that social support strongly predicts learners’ resilience and productive IDLE. Resilience, in turn, is positively associated only with receptive IDLE. Most importantly, a significant full‐chain mediation effect was identified: social support→resilience→receptive IDLE→productive IDLE→AI‐IDLE. These results highlight the developmental and cumulative nature of AI‐IDLE, suggesting that out‐of‐class learning with AI tools builds on earlier informal learning experiences. By foregrounding an under‐researched Central Asian context, this study contributes to the theoretical and empirical understanding of informal digital language learning in the AI era and offers evidence‐informed implications for future pedagogical practices.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.