Lack of opportunities is a significant hurdle for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for students during their learning journey. Previous studies have explored the use of chatbots as learning partners to address this issue. However, the success of chatbot implementation depends on the quality of the reference dialogue content, yet research focusing on this subject is still limited. Typically, human experts are involved in creating suitable dialogue materials for students to ensure the quality of such content. Research attempting to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for generating dialogue practice materials is relatively limited, given the constraints of existing AI systems that may produce incoherent output. This research investigates the potential of leveraging OpenAI's ChatGPT, an AI system known for producing coherent output, to generate reference dialogues for an EFL chatbot system. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of ChatGPT in generating high-quality dialogue materials suitable for EFL students. By employing multiple readability metrics, we analyze the suitability of ChatGPTgenerated dialogue materials and determine the target audience that can benefit the most. Our findings indicate that ChatGPT's dialogues are well-suited for students at the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level A2 (elementary level). These dialogues are easily comprehensible, enabling students at this level to grasp most of the vocabulary used. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the dialogues intended for CEFR B1 (intermediate level) provides ample stimulation for learning new words. The integration of AIpowered chatbots in EFL education shows promise in overcoming limitations and providing valuable learning resources to students.
Recent years have seen remarkable advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI), and many e-learning materials that use ICT and AI have become available on the market. However, none of them has been proven effective at improving speaking skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. The author's previous work suggested that speaking practice with voice recognition and an AI scoring system is an effective method because it allows students to practice speaking anytime and anywhere, without a partner. Furthermore, learners' psychological anxiety may be alleviated, eliminating the resistance to speaking English. With AI, learners do not have to feel embarrassed even if they make mistakes, and they can repeat the practice materials many times. This study describes a newly developed e-learning material that makes the best use of advanced AI technology. It includes activities such as shadowing, role-playing conversations, and speech delivery practice with automatic evaluation and scoring. Also reported are the results of comparisons between pre-and post-test scores on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Oral Proficiency Interviewcomputer (OPIc) test to evaluate the effectiveness of speaking practices and the improvement of oral skills with the proposed system. Finally, a questionnaire is used to examine learners' opinions on learning English with AI. Possible further developments of the e-learning system using AI technology include improving the accuracy of speech recognition for utterances by non-native English speakers, updates to reflect the latest evolution of AI, and the addition of a capability for free conversations instead of just set phrases.
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