Supplementary file 1_Impacts of artificial intelligence on willingness to communicate and its key antecedents in EFL contexts: a systematic review (2015–2026).docx

However, existing systematic reviews have not provided a focused synthesis of AI-WTC research in EFL contexts, nor have they examined in depth how AI impacts WTC and its antecedents or offered clear directions for future research.</p>Methods<p>Guided by three core research questions, this PRISMA-aligned systematic review synthesizes 73 empirical studies published between 2015 and February 2026 to examine research characteristics, assess AI's impacts on WTC and its key antecedents, and identify actionable gaps for future research.</p>Results<p>The findings show that AI-WTC research in EFL contexts has expanded rapidly, with studies concentrated mainly in Asian EFL contexts and frequently focused on generative AI chatbots.

Evidence also suggests that AI may positively influence EFL learners' WTC through both direct and indirect routes. Specifically, this review proposes an integrated framework in which AI directly enhances learners' WTC across different tool types, contexts, and age groups, while also indirectly promoting WTC through four proposed pathways: the Affective Foundation Pathway, the Motivational Propensity Pathway, the Communicative Capacity Pathway, and the Contextual Affordance Pathway.</p>Discussion<p>Anchored in MacIntyre et al.'s pyramid model, this framework extends WTC theory to AI-mediated EFL learning by conceptualizing AI as a dynamic, multi-layered affordance that shapes the affective, motivational, communicative, and contextual antecedents of communication.