EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED TOOLS ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION AMONG ESL LEARNERS

Abstract

This study investigates the efficacy of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools in enhancing English listening comprehension skills among 10th-grade students in Saudi Arabia. Employing a quasi-experimental design, the research involved two cohorts. Starting with an experimental group and a control group each comprising 50 students. Over a seven-week intervention period, the experimental group engaged with selected AI tools, including Text Blaze, Loom, and Otter.ai, integrated within a structured instructional framework targeting four core listening competencies: identifying main ideas, answering detailed comprehension questions, interpreting high-frequency vocabulary, and responding to various question types embedded in spoken discourse. The results demonstrated statistically significant gains in listening performance among students in the experimental group across all assessed dimensions. These findings underscore the pedagogical potential of AI technologies in foreign language instruction. The study advocates for the systematic integration of AI tools into English as a Second Language (ESL) curricula and highlights the importance of sustained professional development for educators to maximize the effective deployment of such technologies. Future research is recommended to examine the longitudinal effects of AI applications on broader domains of language acquisition.