AI-Based Virtual Environments for Chinese EFL Learners: A Three-Layer Developmental Model with Pilot Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61360/BoniCETR252019451201Keywords:
AI virtual environments, language development, EFL learners, SLA, intelligent feedbackAbstract
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and large language models (LLMs) is reshaping foreign language education worldwide. In the Chinese EFL context, however, traditional classroom-based instruction still suffers from limited authentic input, constrained opportunities for interaction, delayed and non-individualized feedback, and insufficient exposure to pragmatic and intercultural experiences. Drawing on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories, constructivism, and situated learning, this study proposes a three-layer developmental model that explains how AI-based virtual environments (AI-VEs) can support Chinese EFL learners’ linguistic, communicative, and intercultural development. At the outer layer, diversified immersive scenarios provide ecologically valid contexts; at the middle layer, a recursive Input–Interaction–Output–Reflection (IIOR) cycle captures core learning mechanisms; at the inner layer, learners’ competencies develop from lexical and formulaic knowledge toward communicative and intercultural competence. The conceptual model is illustrated through a small-scale pilot study involving twelve Chinese undergraduates who completed two AI-VE tasks. Mixed-methods analyses of oral production, interaction logs, questionnaires, and interviews indicate gains in lexical sophistication, increased negotiation of meaning, greater use of formulaic sequences, higher willingness to communicate, and enhanced intercultural sensitivity. These findings offer initial empirical support for the proposed model and suggest that AI-VEs can function as powerful mediational tools for advancing EFL education and educational equity in China. Implications for curriculum design, teacher professional development, and future research are discussed.
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