Another World with Artificial Intelligence in Speaking Classes: To Delve into the Influences on Willingness to Communicate, Personal Best Goals, and Academic Enjoyment

Abstract

As EFL teachers have started to implement AI technology in foreign language learning, this research tried to inspect the influences of artificial intelligence (AI) on speaking skills, willingness to communicate (WTC), personal best goals (PBs), and academic enjoyment (AE) of Saudi Arabian EFL learners. Seventy-three participants were included in this study to achieve this purpose; 36 participants were in the control group (CG), and 37 students were in the experimental group (EG). The level of participants in speaking skills, WTC, PBs, and AE were determined before the treatment using four pretests. Then, the EG was taught five Touch Stone Book 2 units by applying AI- ChatGPT. The same units were trained to the CG without using any AI tools. After teaching all units, both groups' speaking skill levels, WTC, PBs, and AE, were measured by administering four posttests. Comparing the scores of the pretests and posttests, the results indicated that the EG outperformed the CG in the four posttests. This betterment can be ascribed to AI- ChatGPT, which was used to teach the EG. The implications and conclusions of the research were explained at the end.