Virtual avatars are increasingly used to support cross-cultural communication, yet their impact on communication anxiety among English as a Second Language (ESL) speakers remains underexplored. This study examines how avatar realism influences anxiety during English interactions between ESL speakers and native speakers. We conducted a controlled laboratory study in which Mandarin-speaking ESL participants engaged in guided one-on-one conversations under three visual representation conditions: live video, cartoon-like avatars, and realistic-like avatars. Anxiety was assessed using self-reported surveys and physiological signals, including electrodermal activity (EDA), electrocardiography (ECG), and photoplethysmography (PPG). The results show that increased visual realism does not correspond to a monotonic change in anxiety. Live video was the most preferred and was associated with the lowest self-reported anxiety. Cartoon-like avatars exhibited physiological anxiety levels comparable to live video and lower than realistic-like avatars, whereas realistic-like avatars elicited elevated anxiety across measures. These findings suggest that an effective avatar design for ESL communication should prioritize clarity of social signaling, reduced perceived social threat, and alignment between visual representation and interaction context, rather than visual realism alone.

翻译：虚拟化身日益广泛地应用于支持跨文化沟通，但其对英语作为第二语言使用者在沟通中焦虑感的影响仍未得到充分探究。本研究探讨了在与母语者进行英语互动时，化身真实感如何影响ESL使用者的焦虑。我们开展了一项受控实验室研究，让以汉语为母语的ESL参与者在三种视觉呈现条件下进行引导式一对一对话：实时视频、卡通风格化身以及写实风格化身。焦虑感通过自我报告问卷和生理信号进行评估，包括皮肤电活动、心电图和光电容积脉搏波。结果表明，视觉真实感的增强并不对应焦虑感的单调变化。实时视频最受青睐，且与最低的自我报告焦虑感相关。卡通风格化身的生理焦虑水平与实时视频相当，且低于写实风格化身；而写实风格化身则在各项测量指标上引发了更高的焦虑感。这些发现表明，针对ESL沟通的有效化身设计，应优先考虑社会信号传递的清晰度、降低感知到的社会威胁，以及视觉呈现与互动情境的匹配，而非仅仅追求视觉真实感。