Do Interactions with ChatGPT Influence L2 Learners' Oral Speaking Ability, Summarization Ability, and Perceptions of Generative AI Tasks?

Abstract The current study investigated the impact of AI‐mediated interaction on L2 learners' oral speaking ability, summarizing ability, and perceptions. Participants were EFL university students from South Korea who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: aiSPEAK, aiSUM, and control. The two experimental groups, aiSPEAK and aiSUM, engaged in interactional exchanges with ChatGPT‐3.5 to complete oral summary tasks, while the control group completed the same tasks without using an AI tool. To initiate interaction with ChatGPT‐3.5, the aiSPEAK group used a prompt that instructed ChatGPT‐3.5 to play the role of a tutor, while the aiSUM group used a more specific prompt instructing ChatGPT‐3.5 to also provide guidance on summarizing. Results showed that the two experimental groups performed significantly better than the control group on global speaking task performance, while the aiSUM group performed significantly better than the control group on global speaking task performance as well as summarizing performance. Perceptions regarding AI use were generally positive. Our findings point to the feasibility of using generative AI tools in the language classroom to facilitate interaction and improve language outcomes.