Assessing Artificial Intelligence Literacy among Chinese EFL University Students: Current Status and Associated Factors

Abstract

AI literacy is crucial for EFL university students successfully integrating AI into language learning in AI era, however, little is known about the current state of AI literacy among Chinese EFL students. This study addresses this gap by examining their AI literacy levels. Survey data from 384 Chinese EFL students were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results showed that all four dimensions had mean scores above the midpoint of the seven-point Likert scale (ranging from 5.25 to 5.42), with AI ethics scoring highest and AI evaluation lowest. Accordingly, post-hoc analyses revealed a significant difference between these two dimensions. No significant differences in AI literacy scores were observed by gender or English proficiency, whereas differences by academic year and field of study were marginal statistical significance. Furthermore, there was moderate strong relationship among the four dimensions of AI literacy, particularly strong between AI usage and evaluation (r = 0.697). These findings provide insights for integrating AI into EFL education and suggest that AI literacy develops as an integrated competency.