Investigating the Effect of an Interactive Educational Chatbot on Reading Comprehension Skills

Author:

Behforouz BehnamORCID,Al Ghaithi Ali

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the implementation of an interactive chatbot as a facilitator to assess its effects on reading skills. To this end, 60 Omani intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners from a higher education institute were selected as the population and divided into two experimental and control groups with an equal number of learners. Several research-based reading tests have been developed, validated, and piloted to ensure reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha. The test results for the pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests were 0.889, 0.767, and 0.850, which ensured reliability. Although both groups received instructions and practiced reading skills based on the department’s curriculum and delivery plan, an interactive WhatsApp bot was designed to provide additional instructions and exercises for the experimental group for three weeks. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was conducted to assess data normality and determine whether parametric- or nonparametric-tests should be used. The results indicated non-normality in all data sets (p < .05) except for the pre-test data of the experimental group (p > .05); Consequently, the Wilcoxon test was employed to analyze results within the groups, while the Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare the groups. The interpretation of the test within the control group revealed that learners performed significantly differently in the post- and delayed post-tests (Z = -4.80, -2.95 < .05). Similarly, the results of learners in the experimental group showed that they performed significantly better in the post- and delayed post-tests than in the pre-test (Z = -4.79, -4.80 < .05). Finally, the comparison of both groups based on the Mann-Whitney U test revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test and delayed post-test (U = .00, p < .05). Therefore, it could be concluded that chatbots could be beneficial within the learning process, particularly for improving reading skills. These results are promising for teachers and students who utilize technological devices in their learning and teaching practices.

Publisher

International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE)

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3