Investigating the Impacts of Voice-based Student-Chatbot Interactions in the Classroom on EFL Learners' Oral Fluency and Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety

This study reports the findings of a quasi-experimental investigation into the impact of chatbot-supported speaking activities in the classroom on EFL learners’ speaking fluency and Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA). Sixty Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners were divided into experimental and control groups practicing speaking skills with and without a voice-based chatterbot throughout an ۸-week general English course. Data was collected through participants’ speaking fluency pre- and post-tests scores (measured based on speech rate and the number of pauses in their spoken words), and the FLSA scale. A one-way ANCOVA was used to investigate whether EFL learners’ participation in chatterbot-supported in-class speaking activities using Replica makes any significant difference in their oral fluency compared to conventional class. The pre-test fluency scores were considered as the covariate. Similarly, two One-way ANCOVAs were run to investigate measures of FLSA. Results revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group regarding oral fluency; this group was also less anxious when speaking in the target language at the end of the experiment.