The use of SpeakQuest for English speaking practice: Students' perceptions and experiences

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and gamification has created new opportunities for English speaking practice. This study aimed to explore students' perceptions and experiences of using SpeakQuest, an AI-powered, gamified platform for English-speaking practice. The study used a mixed-method approach involving 150 English major students at a public university in Malaysia. A questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data, and semi-structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data. The results showed that students had positive attitudes about SpeakQuest, especially in the aspects of usefulness, ease of use, speaking confidence, and satisfaction. The platform was also found to build students' confidence and engagement levels, and offer them valuable opportunities to communicate in a meaningful way using AI-enabled role-playing exercises, as revealed by the interviews. The study shows that SpeakQuest has great potential as an additional tool for learning English. The platform's conversational AI, role-playing, and gamified elements help to foster confidence, engagement, and communication-based learning among English language learners.