Mathematical word problem performance is a crucial indicator of students’ mathematical abilities, and enhancing mathematical reading comprehension and reading motivation is key. This study examines the impact of a gamified interactive e-book (GIEB) that incorporates metacognitive reading strategies on reading motivation, mathematical reading comprehension, and word problem performance among fifth-grade elementary students. Using a quasi-experimental design, the experimental group learned through the GIEB, while the control group received traditional metacognitive reading strategy instruction. The results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in reading motivation, mathematical reading comprehension, and word problem performance. GIEB, through strategies such as prediction, monitoring, and reflection, improved students’ ability to analyze information, while its integration of immediate feedback and engaging design effectively stimulated students’ intrinsic motivation to learn, strengthening their interest and focus on learning. This study confirms the critical role of reading motivation and mathematical reading comprehension in word problem learning and supports the application of Self-Determination Theory in education. It provides practical evidence for the use of digital tools to enhance educational quality and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, promoting the development of equitable and high-quality education. However, the generalizability of the findings may be limited to Chinese elementary school students, and future research is needed to validate the results in other cultural or educational contexts.

Traditional flipped classrooms often fail to sustain young EFL learners' engagement due to passive pre-class tasks and high self-regulation demands. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) offer potential solutions, their combined impact and the moderating role of technological literacy in primary education remain underexplored. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Self-Regulated Learning theory, this study examined the comparative effects of an integrated AI-VR enhanced flipped classroom on English achievement, metacognitive self-regulation (MSR), and learning motivation, and whether AI-VR technological literacy moderated these effects. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control-group design, 60 fifth-grade Chinese EFL learners were assigned to either an AI-VR enhanced flipped classroom (n = 30) or a traditional video-based flipped model (n = 30). The same instructor delivered both conditions under a fully scripted protocol, with structured classroom observations confirming fidelity. ANCOVA revealed a robust effect on achievement ([Formula: see text] = 0.252, Hedges' g = 0.96, 95% CI [0.43, 1.49]; surviving Holm-Bonferroni adjustment), and smaller, preliminary effects on MSR ([Formula: see text] = 0.082, g = 0.46, 95% CI [- 0.05, 0.96]) and motivation ([Formula: see text] = 0.072, g = 0.53, 95% CI [0.02, 1.04]) that did not survive multiple-comparison adjustment. Critically, technological literacy moderated all three outcomes (all moderation effects robust under adjustment), with intervention benefits concentrated among higher-literacy learners; bootstrap confidence intervals indicated that precise Johnson-Neyman thresholds were not reliably estimated, so moderation is reported as directional. The findings suggest that AI-VR enhanced flipped instruction is conditional rather than universal: strongest gains accrue to achievement, while affective and metacognitive benefits depend on learners' technological literacy.

Although gamified learning can enhance motivation, many systems rely on uniform feedback and provide limited personalized and supportive interaction. Evide