ENG: Using the VirtualSpeech platform to develop oral interaction skills in the EFL classroom in an Estonian upper secondary school: an action research project

Abstract

English is taught as a foreign language in Estonia, and thus, students face challenges accessing English-speaking environments. This thesis explores the potential of virtual reality (VR) for providing immersive language learning experiences, thereby enhancing language acquisition and motivation. Specifically, it investigates the use of conversation with ChatGPT on the VirtualSpeech platform to improve oral interaction skills among upper secondary school students. According to the purpose of the study, an action research project was conducted, and qualitative methods were applied to analyse the gathered data. 22 upper-secondary-school students participated in a four-week intervention. First, the students were provided with input in the form of texts, words with collocations and example sentences, followed by exercises, and discussion about a topic. Later, they were led to interact with ChatGPT on the VirtualSpeech platform. The intervention took place from October to November 2023 in an upper-secondary school in Estonia. Two feedback questionnaires were filled in during and after the intervention. The thesis consists of an introduction, two main chapters, a conclusion, a list of references and six appendices. The introduction identifies the research gap based on previous research, presents the research questions and outlines the structure of the paper. The literature review focuses on applying VR and chatbots in the EFL context. The methodology section describes the action research, presents the results, the analyses of the students’ feedback questionnaires and provides suggestions for future practice. The conclusion summarises the thesis