The Impact of Culturally Adaptive Feedback in Information-Interaction Systems on Language-Learning Motivation and Outcomes

Abstract

Grounded in social-cognitive learning theory and the cross-cultural adaptation framework, this mixed-methods study tests how culturally adaptive feedback (CAF) delivered through an information-interaction system affects university EFL learners’ language-learning motivation and learning outcomes. One hundred and twenty second-year students were randomly allocated to a CAF group and a control group for eight weeks. The quantitative phase employed a 2 (group) × 2 (time) mixed-design ANOVA; the qualitative phase conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 learners, followed by thematic analysis. The findings are as follows: (1) post-test motivation in the CAF group was significantly higher than in the control group, group × time interaction F(1, 118)=15.27, p = .0002, partial η² = .115; (2) the growth rate of learning outcomes in the CAF group significantly surpassed that of the control group, interaction F(1, 118)=12.45, p = .0007, partial η² = .095, end-point Cohen’s d = 2.04; and (3) three high-frequency themes—“enhanced self-efficacy,” “high cultural relevance,” and “increased engagement”—were distilled from the interviews, corroborating the motivation-to-outcome pathway. The study extends the explanatory power of CAF in cross-cultural language learning, demonstrates the motivational amplification generated by culturally contextualised feedback in tandem with self-efficacy, and provides empirical evidence for feedback design in online platforms and classroom practice.