earticle

영어

This study investigates the impact of AI chatbot interactions on elementary English learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC), confidence, and anxiety. Conducted with 23 fifth-grade EFL students in South Korea, the research utilized Replika, a text-based chatbot, over a 14-week intervention. Results showed significant improvements in learners' confidence and reductions in anxiety, highlighting the chatbot's potential to create an affectively supportive and engaging environment. However, there was no statistical significance in WTC. Qualitative data indicated that the gamified features motivated learners, while challenges included difficulties in understanding complex chatbot responses. Pedagogical implications emphasize the importance of providing modified and comprehensible input, teacher scaffolding, and multimodal interaction formats to enhance learning outcomes. The findings suggest that while AI chatbots can positively influence affective factors, further research is needed to explore their impact on oral communication and linguistic proficiency.