  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.
