An exploratory study of chatbots use and its impact on communicative skills of algerian university students in an englishized higher education context

Abstract

As many higher education institutions worldwide shift towards using English as a medium of instruction, the use of technological tools such as chatbots has become widely used to facilitate this transition. This study aims to explore the use of chatbots among first year science and technology students at the university of Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganem in Algeria. It seeks to investigate the extent to which these students use chatbots and the reasons for their use, particularly focusing on how chatbots assist them in enhancing students’ English communication skills. It assesses the impact of using these chatbots on students' communicative skills and identifies the challenges they face. We used a mixed methods research design to collect data from a sample of 50 first-year science and technology students and 6 teachers at the university of Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganem in the Science and Technology Department. The findings revealed that chatbots are frequently used among science and technology students, and this is done for various reasons, including the need to improve their English language proficiency, the inadequacies of English language teachers in teaching English for science and technology, and the limited English skills of teachers in delivering technical content. Furthermore, these chatbots help students develop their communicative skills. On the other hand, there are some challenges that students often face when using chatbots such as the repetitive answers of these apps and students' overreliance on their use. Thus, the present study's findings can be beneficial not only for students to develop their English language proficiency and communicative skills but also for science and technology educators and curriculum designers to rethink the importance of integrating technology tools, especially chatbots, in their teaching practices.