A Study on the Perceptions of English Majored Students’ Towards the Uses of ChatGPT in Enhancing Pronunciation

Abstract

This research examines learners’ perspectives towards ChatGPT following its application in pronunciation class. There were 64 English-majored students from Dai Nam University (a Vietnamese private university) involved in the study. Employing a mixed method research design, quantitative data from Google Form survey was collected from the students after the pronunciation course with ChatGPT application. Qualitative data were then gathered with semi-structured interviews with questions based on TAM model (Technology Acceptance Model) to further understand how students perceive ChatGPT being adapted to their pronunciation learning. Findings showed that students generally viewed the application of ChatGPT in pronunciation training as a positive experience. This is reflected in students’ favorable acknowledgement of ChatGPT’s usefulness in improving their pronunciation, the chatbot’s ease of use and their intention to continue incorporating ChatGPT in their pronunciation practice. Moreover, this research also found that compared to technology-based pronunciation assistant like ChatGPT, learners still prefer human teachers in pronunciation course and they regard ChatGPT as a useful assistant tool to further practice along with teacher’s guidance. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on Artificial Intelligence in language learning and teaching practice, which showcases ChatGPT’s potential to make radical transformation in teaching languages in general and pronunciation training in particular. Future research should include a broader sample size, a control group to avoid certain biases, and the application of ChatGPT in pronunciation course from teachers’ perspective.