Dialog chatbot as an interactive online tool in enhancing ESP vocabulary learning
Saudi Journal of Language Studies
; 3(2):76-86, 2023.
Article
in English
| ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2314462
ABSTRACT
PurposeBased on an experimental study on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students, at the Business Department at the University of Bisha, the purpose of the study is to examine the effect of chatbot use on learning ESP in online classrooms during COVID-19 and find out how Dialogflow chabot can be a useful and interactive online platform to help ESP learners in learning vocabulary well.Design/methodology/approachThe research paper is based on an experimental study of two groups, an experiential group and a controlled group. Two tests were carried out. Pre-tests and post-test of vocabulary knowledge were conducted for both groups to explore the usefulness of using the Dialogflow chatbot in learning ESP vocabulary. A designed chatbot content was prepared and included all the vocabulary details related to words' synonyms and a brief explanation of words' meanings. An informal interview is another tool used in the study. The purpose of using the interview with the participants was to elicit more data from the participants about using the chatbot and about how and in what aspects chatbot using the conversational program was useful and productive.FindingsThe findings of the study explored that the use of chatbots plays a major role in enhancing and learning ESP vocabulary. That was clear as the results showed that the students who used the chatbot Dialogflow in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group.Research limitations/implicationsThe study displays an important pedagogical implication as the use of chatbots could be applied in several settings to improve language learning in general or learning ESP courses in particular. Chatbot creates an interesting environment to foster build good interactions where negotiation of meaning takes place clearly seems to be of great benefit to help learners advance in their L2 lexical development.Originality/valueExamining and exploring whether the use of chatbots plays a major role in enhancing and learning ESP vocabulary in English as Foreign Language setting.
Linguistics; Chatbot; English for specific purposes (ESP); ESP vocabulary; English as second language (ESL); Online platform; English for special purposes; Teaching; Language; Business English; Second language vocabulary learning; Computers; Students; Human-computer interaction; Artificial intelligence; Verbal communication; College students; Research design; Medical research; Design; English as a second language learning; Foreign language learning; Synonyms; Coronaviruses; Word meaning; Education; Chatbots; COVID-19; Natural language
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
ProQuest Central
Language:
English
Journal:
Saudi Journal of Language Studies
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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