The Role of AI-Empowered Applications in Improving Students’ Pronunciation and Fluency

Abstract

Developing the ability to communicate effectively in English requires improving learners’ speaking skills, particularly pronunciation and fluency. Due to their important role in effective communication, these aspects have received growing attention in modern language learning, particularly with the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This study aims to investigate the role of AI-empowered applications in improving students’ pronunciation and fluency, while also examining leaners’ attitudes, the most effective application features, and the pedagogical challenges associated with their use. This research addresses the following questions: 1. What are EFL students’ attitudes towards using AI for speaking fluency and pronunciation? 2. To what extent do AI-empowered applications enhance the key aspects of speaking skills compared to classroom methods? 3. Which features of AI applications help improve pronunciation and fluency most? 4. What are the possible challenges faced by EFL students while using AI applications for improving pronunciation and fluency? In an attempt to find answers to the research questions, a mixed approach is opted for, and a student’ estionnaire is used as the research instrument. The data collected from the questionnaire reveals that the use of AI-empowered applications significantly improves learners’ pronunciation and fluency. In particular, the findings suggest that AI tools provide students with the necessary repetitive practice, instant feedback, dependent learning, and a lowanxiety required to improve their overall oral performance