Perceived usefulness of GenAI and academic engagement among multilingual learners: The mediating role of resilience as a character strength

Songming Liu¹, Siyuan Yin^2,*
1 Foreign Languages College, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
2 Business School, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, No. 185 North Second Ring Road, Huimin District, Hohhot, China
* Corresponding Author: Siyuan Yin. Email: email
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cultivating Teachers' and Students' Character Strengths in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): A Positive Psychology Perspective)

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2026.079616

Received 24 January 2026; Accepted 13 June 2026; Published online 22 July 2026

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Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping language learning, yet research often overlooks how AI-related beliefs foster character strengths. This study investigated the relationship between the perceived usefulness of GenAI and academic engagement, and the mediating role of resilience. Study participants comprised multilingual Mongolian university students (N = 421, female = 57.7%, male = 42.3%; freshmen = 26.1%, sophomores = 21.1%, juniors = 29.9%, seniors = 22.8%; mean age = 20.49, SD = 1.11). Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping procedure results indicated that the perceived usefulness of GenAI was directly associated with higher academic engagement. Furthermore, resilience mediated the relationship between the technology perceptions and sustained learning effort, making the association stronger. These findings support the theoretical integration of the Technology Acceptance Model and Control-Value Theory within a positive psychology framework, demonstrating how perceived utility and emotional control are transformed into sustained involvement through the cultivation of internal character strengths. By implication, educators should therefore integrate GenAI in ways that prioritize the cultivation of resilience as a character strength to improve academic flourishing in AI-mediated language learning.