English Speaking Practice with ChatGPT: Tips and Tricks from a Lecturer at UNESA

Pronunciation and speaking are two significant challenges in learning English, largely due to the stark differences between Indonesian and English pronunciation. With ChatGPT, however, these barriers can be minimised, as ChatGPT is available to be your speaking partner 24/7. Consistency is key to achieving the best results. This is one of the important suggestions from an English Education Master's lecturer at UNESA, who developed this training model, as shared on the OERonELT website.

Pre-Speaking Simulation with ChatGPT

Before starting a speaking practice session with ChatGPT, it's important to set specific goals. Are you aiming to practice speaking skills for everyday conversations? Or perhaps preparing for formal dialogues for work or presentations? Setting clear goals helps you evaluate your practice results effectively. Here are some essential preparations to consider.

1. Prepare a Challenging Topic

Select a topic you enjoy or one that’s interesting to discuss. If possible, pick a topic that’s a bit challenging—not something you’ve fully mastered, but also not something entirely unfamiliar. Topics like education, academic presentations, work, or hobbies work well. A specific topic will help you stay focused. It can also help your brain to prepare phrases or terms related to the topic.

2. Have a Notebook for Vocabulary/Expressions/Terms

During practice, you may come across new vocabulary or interesting sentence structures. Note these down to review and learn later. This is the primary key to this learning model.

Whilst-Speaking Simulation with ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an excellent choice for practicing conversation because of its responsiveness and natural-sounding replies. Here are some simple steps you can follow to start a conversation.

1. Introduce the Topic and Define ChatGPT's Role

Start the interaction by sharing the topic. For example, you might say, "I will present a topic entitled 'digital literacy' in my academic speaking class tomorrow. Now you'll be listening to me explaining the topic and you will evaluate my performance covering pronunciation, accuracy, and fluency."

2. Perform your Presentation

Share your ideas in 3-5 sentences and ask ChatGPT to review and evaluate your points. For instance, "Thank you very much for having me! Today, I would like to talk about the importance of digital literacy for higher education students. Digital literacy is essentially the skill of using information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and share information."

3. Formative Evaluation

After presenting 3-5 sentences, ask ChatGPT for feedback by saying, "Hey ChatGPT, rate my pronunciation and evaluate my English" or use phrasing like, "Hey ChatGPT, assess my pronunciation and evaluate my accuracy and fluency in speaking".

4. Take Note of ChatGPT's Feedback

Write down the important points or suggestions ChatGPT provides. If necessary, dedicate a new notebook to record this feedback for future reference.

5. Request a Rating from ChatGPT

For the final step in this section, ask ChatGPT for a rating by saying, "On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate my pronunciation, accuracy, and fluency?" Record the score that ChatGPT provides.

3. Post-Simulation with ChatGPT

After completing the speaking simulation with ChatGPT, review your notes, understand them, and spend time internalising the material on your own.

1. Internalise the Feedback

If ChatGPT pointed out any specific sounds, phrases, intonations, or other elements during the simulation, practice them with focused repetition and serious effort. Allocate additional time if needed to concentrate on these areas for improvement.

2. Validate with ChatGPT

Next, go back to ChatGPT and practice what you just reviewed. Re-present all the points you shared previously, incorporating the suggested improvements.

3. Summative Evaluation from ChatGPT

Finally, ask ChatGPT for a summative score by saying, "On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate my pronunciation, accuracy, and fluency?" Then, compare your summative score with your formative score to track your progress.