AI-Powered Chatbots as Speaking Partners in EFL Instruction: Effects on Oral Fluency and Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety
Ключевые слова:
artificial intelligence, chatbot, English as a foreign language, speaking skills, oral fluency, foreign language anxiety, task-based language teaching, higher education, UzbekistanАннотация
The rapid diffusion of conversational agents built on large language models has created new opportunities for oral practice in settings where learners have limited access to proficient interlocutors. This study examines whether structured, task-based interaction with an artificial intelligence chatbot improves the oral performance of Uzbek university students of English and reduces their foreign language speaking anxiety. A quasi-experimental pre-test / post-test design with a non-equivalent control group was implemented over ten weeks with sixty-four second-year students of Uzbekistan State World Languages University. The experimental group completed twenty chatbot-mediated speaking tasks in addition to the regular syllabus, whereas the control group followed the syllabus alone. Data were collected through speaking tests rated against a scale referenced to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, an adapted foreign language speaking anxiety questionnaire and twelve semi-structured interviews. The experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test speaking measure and reported significantly lower anxiety, with the largest gains recorded on the fluency criterion. Interview data indicate that the chatbot was valued primarily as a low-stakes rehearsal environment rather than as a source of authoritative linguistic feedback. Pedagogical implications for higher education in Uzbekistan are discussed.
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