Learner Engagement and Related Factors in Virtual Exchange: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies from 2015-2025
This study focused on students' engagement in virtual exchange. After strict screening, 27 empirical studies were selected for thematic analysis. The results show that students' cognitive engagement is not passive information reception, but rather manifested as self-regulatory strategies. Behavioral engagement is marked by continuous and interactive verbal output. Emotional states include interest, tension, frustration, pauses in speech, feelings of isolation, or brief moments of calm. Participate in interaction and collaboration in VE tasks, establish genuine interpersonal relationships, and gradually form a sense of team belonging and community consciousness. It is related to peers' language proficiency, and higher-proficiency peers may facilitate emotional engagement, while significant ability disparity or cultural misunderstandings are likely to cause anxiety, frustration, and even avoidance. Social engagement refers to the practical process where students actively, continuously, and deeply. In summary, this study confirms that learning engagement in virtual communication is neither a natural occurrence nor a result driven by technology, but a dynamic process influenced by multiple factors.