PurposeThis study draws upon achievement emotion theory to investigate the relationships between EFL learners' Internet self-efficacy (ISE), enjoyment, anxiety, and English learning during IPA-mediated gameplay.MethodologyA tailored virtual Charades game, Guessing-Fun, was developed for EFL learners to interact with the IPA. Guessing-Fun offers interactive gameplay with 3 topics (animals, fruits, balls), adjustable difficulty levels, and immediate feedback. A single-group quasi-experiment was conducted with 146 junior high school students over 2 weeks. Data, including vocabulary tests and questionnaires, were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine emotional antecedents and learning outcomes.FindingsThe results showed that ISE was positively related to perceived enjoyment but was negatively related to learning anxiety; English learning could be positively predicted by perceived enjoyment but negatively by learning anxiety; and ISE was positively related to English learning mediated by perceived enjoyment and learning anxiety. Playing virtual Charades with Google Assistant added variety and enjoyment to interaction, made learning adaptable to individual preferences, and encouraged learners to self-evaluate and reason out the proper object.Originality/valueThis study highlights the innovative application of virtual Charades facilitated by IPAs for language learning, sheding light on the emotional dimensions of EFL learning with IPAs.
