Exploring Frameworks of Information Behavior and Informal Learning: A Narrative Review Across Leisure, Equity, AI, and Cross-Cultural Contexts

Informal learning is increasingly shaped by mobile technologies, AI-powered platforms, and globally connected digital communities. Language learners using tools like Duolingo do more than acquire vocabulary—they engage with emotionally charged, culturally embedded, and algorithmically curated information environments. This narrative review draws on key frameworks from information science to explore how informal learning unfolds across non-formal, self-guided, and cross-cultural settings. Four central themes guide the analysis: (۱) serious leisure and affective information experience; (۲) diasporic and multicultural information behavior; (۳) equity and reflexivity in institutional environments; and (۴) inclusive, value-sensitive design in AI-based systems. Together, these perspectives highlight the emotional and sociocultural dimensions of digital learning. Building on these insights, the paper proposes a new integrative model-Contextual-Affective Information Design (CAID) which centers emotional literacy, learner agency, cultural responsiveness, and participatory design. CAID offers both a theoretical lens and a practical guide for creating AI-supported learning platforms that are inclusive, empathetic, and attuned to diverse users. By bridging Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Information Science, this review contributes to a transdisciplinary vision of learning as an emotionally meaningful, culturally situated, and socially responsive information practice.

کلیدواژه ها:

Information Behavior ، Informal Learning ، Cross-Cultural Education ، AI in TEFL ، Serious Leisure ، Equity in Technology