The EuroCALL Review - Volume 32 - A Systematic Review of Generative Artificial Intelligence-based Tools to Improve Oral Skills in English as a Foreign Language

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia

The article examines how artificial intelligence and chatbots have reshaped EFL language teaching, especially for developing English oral skills. It highlights AI’s instructional value through material creation, continuous feedback, scaffolding, and learner-centred pathways that can increase autonomy, creativity, and confidence. The review focuses on chatbots’ role in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and communicative competence, while also addressing limitations such as weak context and limited meaningful interaction. A systematic review of 14 studies evaluates impacts and identifies future research needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

Current chatbots and GenAI capabilities

Challenges of speaking in EFL and potential solutions

Speech-recognition chatbots and personalised interaction

ASR and text-to-speech integration for oral practice

The EuroCALL Review Volume 32, No. 2, 2025, 183-195 ISSN: 1695-2618 [https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2025.23941](https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2025.23941) REVIEW PAPER A Systematic Review of Generative Artificial Intelligence-based Tools to Improve Oral Skills in English as a Foreign Language Lola López-Molines University of Valencia, Spain [lolomo2@alumni.uv.es](lolomo2@alumni.uv.es) How to cite this article: López-Molines, L. (2025) . A Systematic Review of Generative Artificial Intelligence-based Tools to Improve Oral Skills in English as a Foreign Language. The EuroCALL Review, 32(2), 183-195. [https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2025.23941](https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2025.23941) Abstract The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots has completely revolutionised language teaching practices. The power AI holds in EFL language instruction is evident: supporting students through material creation, providing continuous feedback, and facilitating tailored learning pathways, offering greater autonomy, creativity, and confidence. Through scaffolding, student-centred strategies, and inquiry-based approaches, AI facilitates and ensures an inclusive, adapted educational experience for all students, regardless of their levels, needs, or interests (Dennis, 2024; Lee et al., 2024; Mai & Carson-Berndsen, 2024; Sayed et al., 2024) . Chatbots play a vital and multifaceted role in the development of EFL oral skills, enabling tailored and targeted instruction in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and other communicative aspects essential for successfully navigating real-life communicative situations (Fathi et al., 2024; Tai & Chen; 2024) . They provide instant feedback, continuous accessibility and personalised learning strategies, contributing not only to enhanced language accuracy but also to fostering learners' confidence, motivation, and autonomy in communicative situations, helping students address and overcome specific linguistic challenges (Zou et al., 2024) . Nonetheless, despite their potential, AI tools also present various challenges and complexities that must be considered to ensure their effective use, such as a lack of context, coherence, or meaningful interaction (Shikun et al., 2024) . Thus, this paper presents a systematic review of 14 relevant studies from the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases, focusing on AI and EFL oral skills. It examines the impact of AI chatbots on the oral skill acquisition process, identifying key areas for further exploration. Consequently, the following study aims to contribute to current research in the field by exploring the multiple possibilities of these advanced tools, enhancing ELT practices and providing learners with a more holistic and higher-quality education. Keywords Generative Artificial Intelligence; communicative competence; English as a Foreign Language; oral skills 1. Introduction Current chatbots such as GPT-4 or Gemini, among many others growing at a rapid rate, can perform a wide range of complex commands that once required human intellectual abilities, such as speech recognition, decision-making, language processing, comprehension, and analysis, being able to generate output in the form of text, voice, and even images, among others (Mai & Carson-Berndsen, 2024; Sayed et al., 2024; Tai & Chen, 2024; Zou et al., 2024) . The potential of Generative Artificial intelligence (GenAI) and chatbots in language teaching is evident, facilitating oral interaction, vocabulary practice and listening comprehension as they are capable of simulating real conversations, ensuring a more personalised education (Cooray et al., 2024; Wan & Moorhouse, 2024) . In English as a Foreign Language (EFL), the implementation of Gen-AI chatbots can be especially resourceful, as they can actively contribute to and support learners’ language skills development (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) (Al Ghaithi et al. , 2024; Lee et al., 2024)

FAQs

How do generative AI chatbots support EFL oral skills?

They enable tailored interaction for pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and other communicative aspects. The article also emphasizes instant feedback and accessible, personalised learning strategies that can improve accuracy and confidence.

What challenges or limitations must be considered when using AI tools for oral practice?

The paper notes challenges such as a lack of context, coherence, or meaningful interaction. These factors can affect how effectively the tools support learning outcomes.

What does the systematic review cover and why?

It reviews 14 relevant studies from Web of Science and Scopus, focusing on AI and EFL oral skills. The goal is to assess the impact of AI chatbots on oral skill acquisition and inform further research and ELT practice.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia