Exploring Malaysian Upper Primary School ESL Learners' Oral Communicative Skills through ChatGPT Voice Chat

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of ChatGPT voice chat in enhancing the oral communicative skills of Malaysian Year 4 pupils within a primary ESL context. Specifically, it examines how the integration of AI-driven voice interaction can support pupils’ oral communicative development, including fluency, vocabulary use, and sentence construction. A quantitative research design was adopted to systematically measure the impact of ChatGPT voice chat on pupils’ oral communicative performance. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests as well as structured questionnaires. The pre- and post-tests were administered to assess pupils’ oral communicative skills before and after the intervention, focusing on fluency, vocabulary usage, and sentence construction. Meanwhile, the questionnaires were used to gather pupils’ attitudes, engagement levels, and perceptions toward the use of ChatGPT voice chat in oral communication activities.The intervention involved structured prompt training, where pupils were guided on how to interact effectively with ChatGPT voice chat to elicit meaningful spoken responses. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods to determine changes in pupils’ oral communicative performance and perceptions following the intervention.The findings indicate that prompt training played a significant role in helping pupils produce more structured and coherent oral communication output. Additionally, the use of ChatGPT voice chat encouraged more active participation, reduced oral communication anxiety, and created a low-pressure environment for practising English. Overall, the results suggest that integrating ChatGPT voice chat into the teaching of oral communicative skills can effectively supplement traditional instructional methods, making language learning more interactive, accessible, and enjoyable for young learners. This study contributes to the growing body of research on educational artificial intelligence, particularly within the domain of second language acquisition at the primary school level.