DIGITAL SUSTAINABILITY IN ENGLISH READING PEDAGOGY: EXPLORING TECHNOSTRESS AND AI-ANXIETY AMONG EFL LEARNERS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/ishel.v2i1.68636Keywords:
AI-supported reading, technostress, AI-anxiety, digital sustainability, EFL learnersAbstract
This study investigates digital sustainability in English reading pedagogy by exploring EFL learners’ lived experiences of AI-supported reading platforms, with particular attention to technostress and AI-anxiety. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, the study draws on semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, and document analysis involving undergraduate EFL learners who used AI tools for vocabulary clarification, translation, text simplification, summarization, comprehension checking, and feedback support. The findings reveal that AI-supported reading platforms provided immediate pedagogical assistance by lowering linguistic barriers, supporting personalized reading, and helping learners engage with difficult English texts. However, the same platforms also produced psychological and pedagogical tensions. Learners experienced technostress through digital overload, platform complexity, technical disruption, screen fatigue, and excessive AI feedback. AI-anxiety emerged through uncertainty about AI accuracy, distrust of automated feedback, privacy concerns, dependency fear, and reduced reading confidence. The study further shows that sustainable AI-supported reading requires teacher mediation, peer discussion, critical AI literacy, ethical guidance, and psychologically safe task design. These findings indicate that AI should function as a scaffold rather than a substitute for learner interpretation, teacher expertise, and textual engagement. The study contributes to applied linguistics by integrating AI-supported reading pedagogy, technostress, AI-anxiety, learner autonomy, and digital sustainability into a human-centered pedagogical framework. It also supports SDG 4 and SDG 9 by promoting inclusive quality education and responsible digital innovation in EFL reading contexts.
References
Abrar‐ul‐Hassan, S., & Nassaji, H. (2021). Extending the L2 Motivational Self System to the Global EAL Classroom. Relc Journal, 54(1), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211009314
Alam, S. (2024). Reflecting the Voices of EFL Teachers in the World of Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Assessment (ICALA): An Insight Into Teacher Immunity, Reflective Teaching, Job Satisfaction, and L2-Teacher Grit. Language Testing in Asia, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-024-00314-z
Alharbi, W. (2023). AI in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Pedagogical Overview of Automated Writing Assistance Tools. Education Research International, 2023, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4253331
Allison, J., Hwang, G., Mayer, R. E., Πέλλας, Ν., Karnalim, O., Freitas, S. d., Ng, O., Huang, Y.-M., Hooshyar, D., Seidman, R. H., Al‐Emran, M., Mikropoulos, T. A.,
Schroeder, N. L., Roscoe, R. D., & Sanusi, I. T. (2025). From Generative AI to Extended Reality: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Challenges, Opportunities, and Future of Educational Computing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 63(6), 1327–1363. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331251359964
Alshahrani, B. T., Pileggi, S. F., & Karimi, F. (2024). A Social Perspective on AI in the Higher Education System: A Semisystematic Literature Review. Electronics, 13(8), 1572. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13081572
Asad, M. M., Shahzad, S., Shah, S. H. A., Sherwani, F., & Almusharraf, N. (2024). ChatGPT as Artificial Intelligence-Based Generative Multimedia for English Writing Pedagogy: Challenges and Opportunities From an Educator’s Perspective. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 41(5), 490–506. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijilt-02-2024-0021
Awad, S. O. I., Mohamed, Y., & Shaheen, R. (2022). Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Education. Al-Azkiyaa - Jurnal Antarabangsa Bahasa Dan Pendidikan, 1(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.33102/alazkiyaa.v1i1.10
Barjesteh, H. (2026). Bridging Criticality and Digital Literacy in the Age of AI: A Mixed-Method Comparative Study of Teachers’ and Learners’ Perceptions of Critical Digital Pedagogy in Iranian EFL Institutes. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8167945/v1
Bulathwela, S., Pérez‐Ortiz, M., Holloway, C., & Shawe‐Taylor, J. (2021). Could AI Democratise Education? Socio-Technical Imaginaries of an EdTech Revolution. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2112.02034
Capinding, A. T., & Dumayas, F. T. (2024). Transformative Pedagogy in the Digital Age: Unraveling the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Higher Education Students. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 82(5), 630–657. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/24.82.630
Deák, C., & Kumar, B. (2024). A Systematic Review of STEAM Education’s Role in Nurturing Digital Competencies for Sustainable Innovations. Education Sciences, 14(3), 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030226
DR. M. Anto Juliet Mary, & Joyce, M. (2024). AI and Education: Impact of AI on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education. Interantional Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management, 08(008), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsrem37145
Eguchi, A., Okada, H., & Muto, Y. (2021). Contextualizing AI Education for K-12 Students to Enhance Their Learning of AI Literacy Through Culturally Responsive Approaches. Ki - Künstliche Intelligenz, 35(2), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13218-021-00737-3
Hardaker, G., & Glenn, L. E. (2025). Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Learning: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 42(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijilt-07-2024-0160
Hennessy, S., Mavrikis, M., Girvan, C., Price, S., & Winters, N. (2020). Editorial. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(1), 5–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12897
Henriksen, D., Mishra, P., & Stern, R. E. (2024). Creative Learning for Sustainability in a World of AI: Action, Mindset, Values. Sustainability, 16(11), 4451. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114451
Hezam, A. M. M., & Alkhateeb, A. (2024). Short Stories and AI Tools: An Exploratory Study. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 14(7), 2053–2062. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1407.12
Hui, D., Li, W., & Ye, D. (2022). The Influence of English as a Foreign Language Teachers’ Positive Mood and Hope on Their Academic Buoyancy: A Theoretical Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.801435
Kadir, F. A., Balachandran, S., & Yunos, M. M. (2021). The Impact of Covid-19 on English Language Teaching and Learning Process: A Review. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v10-i2/9741
Kızıl, A. Ş., Klímová, B., Pikhart, M., & Parmaxi, A. (2025). A Systematic Review of the Recent Research on the Usefulness of Chatbots for Language Education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 41(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.70001
Kucirkova, N., & Gray, S. L. (2023). Beyond Personalization: Embracing Democratic Learning Within Artificially Intelligent Systems. Educational Theory, 73(4), 469–489. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12590
Liu, H., & Fan, J. (2024). AI‐Mediated Communication in EFL Classrooms: The Role of Technical and Pedagogical Stimuli and the Mediating Effects of AI Literacy and Enjoyment. European Journal of Education, 60(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12813
McInnes, R., Carandang, M., & Kulkarni, A. (2023). Unleashing the Power of Gen-Ai for Digital Education Development. Ascilite Publications. https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2023.520
Ng, D. T. K., Wu, W., Leung, J. K. L., Chiu, T. K. F., & Chu, S. K. W. (2023). Design and Validation of the AI Literacy Questionnaire: The Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive and Ethical Approach. British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(3), 1082–1104. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13411
Ning, Y., Zhang, C., Xu, B., Zhou, Y., & Wijaya, T. T. (2024a). Teachers’ AI-TPACK: Exploring the Relationship Between Knowledge Elements. Sustainability, 16(3), 978. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16030978
Ning, Y., Zhang, C., Xu, B., Zhou, Y., & Wijaya, T. T. (2024b). Teachers’ AI-TPACK: Exploring the Relationship Between Knowledge Elements. Sustainability, 16(3), 978. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16030978
Rienties, B., Simonsen, H. K., & Herodotou, C. (2020). Defining the Boundaries Between Artificial Intelligence in Education, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Educational Data Mining, and Learning Analytics: A Need for Coherence. Frontiers in Education, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00128
Sarı, T., Nayır, F., & Bozkurt, A. (2024a). Reimagining Education: Bridging Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism, and Critical Pedagogy. Journal of Educational Technology and Online Learning, 7(1), 102–115. https://doi.org/10.31681/jetol.1308022
Sarı, T., Nayır, F., & Bozkurt, A. (2024b). Reimagining Education: Bridging Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism, and Critical Pedagogy. Journal of Educational Technology and Online Learning, 7(1), 102–115. https://doi.org/10.31681/jetol.1308022
Stofiana, T., Sunendar, D., Mulyati, Y., & Sastromiharjo, A. (2025). A Decade of Research on Metacognition, Self-Regulated Learning, and Academic Writing: A Bibliometric Review (2015–2025). https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6629852/v1
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Pan, Z. (2022). Positioning an Agenda on a Loving Pedagogy in Second Language Acquisition: Conceptualization, Practice, and Research. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894190
Zhai, X., & Razali, A. B. (2023). Triple Method Approach to Development of a Genre-Based Approach to Teaching ESL/EFL Writing: A Systematic Literature Review by Bibliometric, Content, and Scientometric Analyses. Sage Open, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221147255
Zhang, S., & Liu, X. (2025). Learner Emotions in AI-assisted English as a Second/Foreign Language Learning: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1652806
Zhao, S., & Li, M. (2021). Reflection on Loving Pedagogy and Students’ Engagement in EFL/ESL Classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.757697
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Abdul Hamid Aly, Zainal Rafli, Liliana Muliastuti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
