Exploring Students' Perceptions of Using the ChatGPT Voice Conversation Feature for Informal English-Speaking Practice

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially with generative AI chatbots, is opening innovative options for autonomous language learning. This qualitative descriptive study investigates university students’ impressions of utilizing the ChatGPT Voice Conversation function for informal English speaking practice. Twelve Indonesian university students of English education major who used the feature to practice speaking by themselves for four weeks were selected by purposive sampling technique and then interviewed using semi-structured interview. The data collected were examined using Braun and Clarke thematic analysis methodology. The preliminary data suggest that students view the ChatGPT Voice Conversation feature as a low-anxiety, highly accessible and interactive tool that helps them improve speaking fluency and learn vocabulary. However, several significant shortcomings were detected including technical constraints such as occasional odd prosody, conversational disconnects and the absence of non-verbal cues. The study suggests that AI speech features, while useful as scaffolding for informal conversation, should be used to supplement, not substitute for, human-human contact in language instruction