Students' attitudes towards AI speaking partners: analyzing acceptance of and resistance to ChatGPT

The fast evolution of artificial intelligence has affected learning English as a foreign language, specifically speaking. ChatGPT has become a learning assistant who can speak to learners, allowing them to train on their own. This research explores how students accept and resist ChatGPT as a speaking partner AI and what affects the two attitudes. This research used a quantitative survey design on 60 students who had attended the English Language Education program and had attended a course in Spoken English. A Likert-scale questionnaire on the basis of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) was used to collect data and was analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics. The results indicate that the acceptance of ChatGPT by students is average, with the exception that a number of students reveal high levels of acceptance. The opposition of the students is also classified as moderate meaning that the attitude that students had was not against it but was rather cautious. The factors that affect acceptance are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and learning support, whereas perceived resistance is linked to fears of overreliance on AI, inaccuracy in response, and the lack of human interaction. On the whole, ChatGPT is viewed as a supportive speech partner, which does not replace teachers or human interaction, which emphasizes the need to integrate pedagogical guidance.