The emergence of virtual avatars provides innovative opportunities for remote conferencing, education, and more. Our study investigates how the realism of avatars, used by native English speakers, impacts the anxiety levels of English as a Second Language (ESL) speakers during interactions. ESL participants engaged in conversations with native English speakers represented through cartoonish avatars, realistic-like avatars, or actual video streams. We measured both the ESL speakers' self-reported anxiety and their physiological indicators of anxiety. Our findings show that interactions with native speakers using cartoonish avatars or direct video lead to reduced anxiety levels among ESL participants. However, interactions with avatars that closely resemble humans heightened these anxieties. These insights are critically important for the design and application of virtual avatars, especially in addressing cross-cultural communication barriers and enhancing user experience.

翻译：虚拟化身的出现为远程会议、教育等领域带来了创新机遇。本研究探讨了英语母语者使用的虚拟化身真实感如何影响英语作为第二语言（ESL）使用者在互动过程中的焦虑水平。ESL参与者与通过卡通风格化身、逼真化身或实时视频流呈现的英语母语者进行对话。我们同时测量了ESL使用者的自我报告焦虑水平及生理焦虑指标。研究结果显示，当与使用卡通风格化身或直接视频的母语者互动时，ESL参与者的焦虑水平有所降低；而与高度拟人化化身互动则加剧了焦虑。这些发现对虚拟化身的设计与应用具有关键意义，尤其在应对跨文化沟通障碍和提升用户体验方面。