AI-Powered Language Learning in ESP: A Quasi-Experimental Study on TalkPal versus Conventional Instruction among Tourism Students

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-809-2_41How to use a DOI?

Keywords

English for Specific Purposes; Generative AI; TalkPal

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of TalkPal, a Generative AI-powered conversational application, in improving English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learning outcomes among Tourism Department students at Politeknik Negeri Bali, compared with conventional instruction. Using a quasi-experimental two-group pre-test/post-test design, students were assigned to an experimental group receiving TalkPal-integrated ESP instruction (n = 30) and a control group receiving conventional instruction (n = 30). English proficiency was measured using a Complexity-Accuracy-Fluency (CAF) speaking task, and students’ perceptions of the use of TalkPal were explored through semi-structured interviews analyzed thematically. As the data were not normally distributed (Shapiro Wilk, p < .05), non-parametric statistics were used. The experimental group showed a significant increase in ESP proficiency (p < .001), with a mean N-Gain of 39.83% (moderate category), significantly outperforming the control’s group N-Gain of 17.32% (low category). The between-group difference at post-test was also significant (Mann Whitney U = 4.000, p < .001), corresponding to a rank-biserial effect size of r = .99, indicating a very large effect. Thematic analysis corroborated these quantitative gains, highlighting real-time feedback, reduced speaking anxiety, and increased motivation as contributing mechanisms, alongside reported drawbacks associated with the application free-tier limitations. The study concludes that TalkPal is effective interactive medium for developing ESP speaking, grammar, and pronunciation skills when embedded with a structured task-based instructional sequence, though findings should be interpreted in light of the study’s short duration, single-institution sample, and reliance on the free version of the application.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Putu Tika Virginiya
AU  - I Putu Yoga Laksana
AU  - Ni Nyoman Sri Astuti
AU  - Sang Ayu Made Krisna Dewi Natalia
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/24
TI  - AI-Powered Language Learning in ESP: A Quasi-Experimental Study on TalkPal versus Conventional Instruction among Tourism Students
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Green Tourism Applied Science - Social Applied Science 2026 (ICoSTAS-SAS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 424
EP  - 434
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-809-2_41
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-809-2_41
ID  - Virginiya2026
ER  -