AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF AI CHATBOTS AS PREDICTORS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE IN AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Abstract

The research was conducted to determine how AI chatbot-supported instruction can improve the English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency of Class 10 students of Government Pilot High School Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It was a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design that included 60 students in an experimental group and control group. The experimental group was supplied with AI chatbot-mediated instruction with the aid of ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and the control group was instructed in the traditional English. The intervention took place during the eight to twelve weeks period and was in accordance to Class 10 English syllabus by Azad Jammu and Kashmir Textbook Board. The data were gathered through the use of a curriculum-based ESL proficiency test and speaking and writing assessment through the use of analytic rubrics. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent samples t -tests, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed no significant difference of the groups during the baseline. Nonetheless, the post-intervention outcomes showed significant statistical gain in the overall ESL proficiency of students having AI chatbot-based instruction with a big effect size.

There was also a great improvement in speaking, writing, vocabulary, and grammar skills. It was concluded that AI chatbot integration in a structured manner could be of great help in improving ESL learning at the secondary level. The results imply that AI-mediated instructional strategies may be used as useful pedagogical strategies to enhance communicative competence in any English language classroom within Azad Jammu and Kashmir.