From Digital Literacy to Student's Creativity: The Motivational Pathway in AI-Supported Language Learning.
This study examines how teaching style, ChatGPT usage, and digital literacy collectively influence motivation, anxiety, and creativity among Chinese EFL learners, while investigating motivation's mediating role in these relationships. Adopting a quantitative approach, data were collected from n =290 undergraduate students using validated scales and analysed through structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that student-cantered teaching, strategic ChatGPT integration, and digital literacy are positively associated with higher motivation. Higher motivation, in turn, is associated with lower anxiety, and lower anxiety is associated with higher creativity. Furthermore, motivation fully mediates the associations between the three antecedents (teaching style, ChatGPT use, digital literacy) and anxiety, highlighting its central role in emotional outcomes within the tested model. The study contributes to self-determination theory by demonstrating how pedagogical and technological factors synergistically support learners' psychological needs, while extending the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media by clarifying motivation's mediational function. Practical implications highlight the need for teacher training programs that combine innovative pedagogy, AI tool utilization, and digital literacy development to optimize language learning experiences. The research underscores the importance of motivation-centered approaches in technology-enhanced EFL education, particularly in high-stakes learning environments.