Chuan-Chung Hsieh, Sandrotua Bali, Thomas K.F. Chiu, Ai-Chun Yen, Ming-Chou Liu, Tsai-Ching Chen, Vit Ardhyantama
This study examines the constructs that predict Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in English language learning through AI chatbots among low-achieving undergraduate students, focusing on the roles of social presence, trust in AI, enjoyment, and the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) constructs of perceived autonomy, relatedness, and competence. To achieve this aim, we employed a dual analytical approach that integrates Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) to analyze data from 332 valid questionnaires completed by university students in Taiwan. The results indicate that enjoyment, perceived autonomy, perceived relatedness, and trust in AI significantly predict SRL, with enjoyment emerging as the strongest predictor and perceived competence the weakest. Although social presence did not directly predict SRL, it was positively associated with autonomy, relatedness, and competence. These findings suggest that AI chatbots can support SRL among low-achieving students by providing enjoyable learning experiences that satisfy learners' psychological needs, while additional support is needed to strengthen their perceived competence. © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Center for Teacher Education, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan; Department of Education and Learning Technology, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan; Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, SAR, China; Department of English, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan; Department of Education and Human Potentials Development, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan; Department of English Language and Literature, Tzu Chi University, Taiwan; Department of Elementary Education, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia
