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The growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching highlights the significant role of AI literacy. Despite advancements in AI in Education, research on how learners’ AI literacy specifically affects their language learning engagement remains insufficient. This study investigated the mechanism through which AI literacy predicts student engagement, examining the mediating roles of basic psychological needs and self-regulated learning. Grounded in self-determination theory and the self-regulated learning perspective, this research employed structural equation modeling to analyze data from 1428 Chinese university students, constructing a prediction model of student engagement within AI-assisted EFL contexts. The results revealed that AI literacy does not directly influence student engagement, while it significantly and positively predicts students’ basic psychological needs and self-regulated learning in AI-assisted EFL contexts. Furthermore, these two factors served as crucial mediators in the relationship between AI literacy and student engagement. This study highlights the necessity of integrating AI literacy into EFL instruction to enhance learners’ motivation and learning strategies. These findings provide an empirical foundation and practical pedagogical implications for the effective integration of AI into EFL education.
Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.