Digital selves in the Nigerian second language classroom: Modelling the structural relationship between AI-enhanced identity expression, growth mindset, language self-efficacy, and second language grit

Abstract

As artificial intelligence increasingly mediates second language learning, understanding its psychological implications has become vital. This study models how AI-enhanced identity expression influences learners’ motivational dynamics by examining its direct and indirect impacts on growth mindset, language self-efficacy, and second language grit among Nigerian undergraduate students of a second language. Drawing on self-based and sociocultural motivation theories, the study suggests that projecting one’s digital self through AI-mediated interaction cultivates adaptive beliefs that support perseverance in language learning. Data from 721 students were analysed using structural equation modelling with bootstrapped mediation. Results showed that AI-enhanced identity expression significantly predicted growth mindset, language self-efficacy, and second language grit, and that growth mindset and self-efficacy sequentially mediated the relationship between identity expression and grit. The final model explained a substantial proportion of variance across all motivational constructs. These findings advance the understanding of AI-mediated selfhood in second language learning by identifying identity expression as a psychological mechanism that transforms technological interaction into motivational resilience. Pedagogically, the study affirms the importance of identity-centred AI integration in strengthening learners’ self-beliefs and perseverance in technology-enhanced second language classrooms.