ChatGPT use and learner autonomy among EFL university students: the mediating role of English speaking anxiety

Despite the rapid proliferation of ChatGPT in EFL educational contexts, to the best of current knowledge, no identified study has simultaneously modeled ChatGPT use, English speaking anxiety, and learner autonomy within a single structural framework. The present study aims to investigate the mediating role of English speaking anxiety in the relationship between ChatGPT use and learner autonomy among EFL university students. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design is employed with a main sample of 852 EFL students drawn from three Egyptian public universities. Participants complete three validated instruments: the ChatGPT usage scale, the Foreign language classroom speaking anxiety scale, and the learner autonomy scale. Data are analyzed using Pearson correlation and Hayes's PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Results reveal that ChatGPT use is negatively associated with speaking anxiety and positively associated with learner autonomy, while speaking anxiety negatively predicts learner autonomy. Mediation analysis confirms that speaking anxiety partially mediates the ChatGPT use-learner autonomy relationship, accounting for 34.80% of the total effect. These findings are consistent with the integration of the Affective Filter Hypothesis and Self-Determination Theory as complementary frameworks for understanding AI-mediated language learning, though causal interpretation is limited by the cross-sectional design and the reliance on a classroom-based anxiety measure. The results tentatively suggest the potential value of anxiety-targeted ChatGPT integration strategies in EFL curricula, pending replication through longitudinal and experimentally controlled designs.