Enhancing English Pronunciation with ChatGPT: An Effective AI Tutor for Transforming Language Instruction and Learning

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool in language instruction, particularly for enhancing oral fluency and pronunciation of non-native English speakers. This action research investigates the extent to which ChatGPT, as an AI-powered language tutor, can improve the pronunciation of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL)— specifically, for senior student-teachers majoring in Early Childhood Education (ECE), whose profession requires frequent read-aloud sessions for young learners. A cohort of 11 female ECE student-teachers used ChatGPT’s voice mode and the SpeechAnalyzer app to practice English sounds, stress patterns, and intonation. Participants audio-recorded three stories across pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest phases. These stories were generated by ChatGPT, and each included multi-syllabic words, interdental sounds, definite and indefinite articles, statements and questions. Additionally, a survey was administered to explore participants’ perceptions of the advantages, challenges, and effectiveness of these AI tools. Findings indicated that ChatGPT significantly improved participants’ pronunciation, stress accuracy, and learner autonomy by offering individualized feedback and a flexible learning experience. Speech Analyzer complemented this process by identifying misread and omitted words and by providing visual cues for improvement. The pronunciation scores increased from a pretest mean of 5.0 to a delayed posttest mean of 7.67. Despite these benefits, challenges included difficulties in effectively prompting ChatGPT, interpreting AI generated feedback, capturing the phonetic nuances, and addressing ethical concerns. Recommendations for future AI integration in pronunciation training are also discussed.