EFL teachers' emotional scaffolding strategies in AI-mediated L2 education: A descriptive qualitative study

Recently, the emotional aspects of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in second/foreign language (L2) education have been emphasized in the literature. Nevertheless, the way teachers may support their learners' emotional experiences via scaffolding practices has received comparatively limited attention in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. To address this gap, the present descriptive qualitative research explored Chinese EFL teachers' perceived and reported emotional scaffolding strategies used to regulate learners' emotions in AI-mediated L2 education. The data were gathered through interviews with 20 Chinese EFL teachers. The results of thematic analysis revealed five common emotional scaffolding strategies, which were perceived by the participants as useful for regulating their learners' AI-induced emotions. Particularly, they had used 1) personal stories and narratives, 2) technical-emotional support, 3) scaffolded tasks with positive reinforcement, 4) friendly and collaborative atmosphere, and 5) immediate and constructive feedback to support their learners' emotions in AI-mediated classes. The study invites teacher education programs to focus on the psycho-affective aspect of AI integration in L2 education.