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ArticleMulti-perspective Studies of Foreign Languages Learning http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.10.030

Boon or Bane? The Dual Emotional Experience of Generative Artificial Intelligence in English Writing among College Students

Peixi Wu

Xi'An Mingde Institute of Technology, Xi'an 710124, Shaanxi, China.

*Corresponding author: Peixi Wu

Published: October 31,2025

Abstract

The study was designed to understand how generative artificial intelligence influenced the emotions of 120 non-English major college students who completed English writing assignments. A mixed-method approach was employed to analyze writing anxiety scale, AI-based interaction logs, and reflective reports with AI. The findings revealed a dualistic impact, crystallizing into two distinct user patterns. The first, ‘Empowered Collaboration,’ was characterized by reduced anxiety and increased self-efficacy through targeted AI use. The second, ‘Disorientation,’ involved increased anxiety and passive reliance on AI. This further showed that the emotional experience of using AI hinged on the tactics used by learners. As a result, the study offered educational suggestions such as strengthening systematic usage instruction on AI and implementing updated formative assessment to foster a positive humanmachine collaborative relationships.

Keywords

Generative AI; English Writing; Writing Anxiety; Self-efficacy; Mixed-Methods Research

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How to cite this paper

Boon or Bane? The Dual Emotional Experience of Generative Artificial Intelligence in English Writing among College Students

How to cite this paper: Peixi Wu. (2025). Boon or Bane? The Dual Emotional Experience of Generative Artificial Intelligence in English Writing among College Students. Translation and Foreign Language Learning1(3), 578-582.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.10.030