Artificial intelligence literacy and foreign language confidence among university second language learners

Abstract

This quantitative correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and foreign-language confidence among university second-language learners. Two samples were recruited: a psychometric sample (N=341) for scale validation and a main sample (N=541) for hypothesis testing. Participants completed the artificial intelligence literacy scale (AILS), measuring awareness, usage, evaluation, and ethics dimensions, and the foreign language confidence scale (FLCS), assessing foreign language competence, sense of linguistic security, and sense of linguistic ownership. Pearson correlation analyses revealed statistically significant positive associations between all AI literacy and foreign language confidence dimensions (r=.398–.574). Simple linear regression demonstrated that AI literacy significantly predicted foreign language confidence (F(1, 539)=270.742, p<.001, R²=.334), with each unit increase in AI literacy corresponding to a .736-unit increase in foreign language confidence. These findings suggest that systematically embedding AI literacy instruction into language curricula may serve as a meaningful lever to strengthen learners’ psychological readiness and communicative confidence in the target language.