An Analysis of Korean EFL Learners’ Experience on English Classes Using AI Chatbot

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to conduct English classes using AI chatbots, which are rapidly emerging as keywords for society as a whole, and to qualitatively analyze learners learning experiences through learners responses revealed in the process. Method: For this purpose, an English class using AI chatbot was applied for one semester to 23 first-year stu-dents attending A middle school, and 4 of them were selected as research participants. For data collection, in-depth interviews were conducted with the 4 students who experienced English classes using AI chatbots to closely examine their thoughts and attitudes. Qualitative content analysis, a research method that reveals patterns and topics of content through the coding process, was adopted, and the transcribed data was uploaded to Tar-get(taguette.com), an online free analysis tool, for analysis. Results: As a result of the study, the students experienced increased English proficiency including speaking and listening skills, changed their motivation and attitude toward learning English, increased interest in learning Eng-lish, decreased anxiety in learning foreign languages, difficulties with chatbot utterance speed and difficulty, and chatbot response limitations. Conclusion: Through the results of this study, it was possible to an in-depth examination of the changed learn-ing experiences of students and the expansion of learning methods suitable for the era of the 4th industrial revo-lution in the future. Therefore, in the EFL environment such as Korea, AI chatbots are highly likely to be used as an effective tool in terms of English learning and learners affective domain, which is expected to maximize the effec-tiveness of English education.