LetMeSpeak Mobile Application Supports Students' English Speaking Skill Development

Aplikasi Mobile LetMeSpeak Dukung Pengembangan Kemampuan Berbahasa Inggris Siswa

Abstract

General Background: English speaking skills are essential for communication, yet many students struggle with fluency due to limited practice opportunities and ineffective learning methods. Specific Background: In Indonesia, junior high school students often face challenges in vocabulary retention, grammar application, and pronunciation, impacting their speaking proficiency. Knowledge Gap: While technology-enhanced learning tools have shown promise, research on the effectiveness of mobile applications like LetMeSpeak in improving speaking skills remains limited. Aims: This study examines the impact of LetMeSpeak on students' English-speaking skills through a pre-experimental design using pre-test and post-test assessments. Results: The findings reveal a significant improvement in students’ speaking performance, with an average score increase from 62.88 (pre-test) to 76.00 (post-test). Novelty: Unlike traditional methods, LetMeSpeak integrates interactive AI-driven features that enhance pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency through real-life conversation simulations. Implications: The study suggests that mobile-assisted language learning, particularly LetMeSpeak, can be an effective pedagogical tool for improving English-speaking skills among junior high school students, offering educators an innovative and engaging approach to language instruction.

Highlights:

• Technology-Enhanced Learning – LetMeSpeak effectively improves students' English-speaking skills through interactive AI-driven features.

• Significant Score Improvement – Students’ average speaking scores increased from 62.88 (pre-test) to 76.00 (post-test).

• Pedagogical Implications – Mobile-assisted language learning can be a practical tool for enhancing fluency, pronunciation, and vocabulary in junior high school students.

Keywords: LetMeSpeak, Speaking Skills, Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, Junior High School, English Education

Introduction

English is widely recognized as a dominant language used in most countries around the world. As a result, English has become a language that must be studied in almost all regions. Despite its global use, the Asian region resents its influence. This sentiment is not without reason, as the number of challenges to overcome in learning English skills is significant, especially speaking skills, which pose a problem for many countries where English is a foreign language. In the present modern world, everything is linked with speaking skills[2]. Learning how to speak English is challenging for both college students and younger students. Particularly for secondary school students, English is often the most difficult subject they face. It can be proven that the Thailand government recommends that learning English starts at an early age up to university level[3].

Speaking is a productive skill that can be directly and empirically observed [4]. It is crucial for communication. Foreign learners have spoken English all over the world [5]. However, many students struggle to speak English despite studying it for many years. The limited use of English in society and schools makes it a problematic means of communication in every foreign country. Students always regard speaking abilities as the most crucial aspect of language acquisition. Fluency should be given more importance[6]. Fluency refers to the ability to communicate smoothly and effectively, without being overly concerned with minor errors. However, in practicing English speaking fluency skills, there are many things that need to be considered, such as grammar, vocabulary, pragmatics, emotions, etc., and these factors combine to create difficulties in speaking skills[7].

The challenge of speaking English is not exclusive to foreign countries where English is a second language; it also exists in Indonesia. As a large nation, it's important for Indonesians to learn English. Particularly, speaking skills should be nurtured from a young age and are vital for every secondary student's development. By learning to speak English proficiently, students can express their thoughts, ideas, and opinions confidently and effectively. This allows them to engage in meaningful conversations, participate in group discussions, and deliver impactful presentations. Developing strong speaking skills also enhances their ability to articulate their viewpoints and engage in persuasive communication. However, in its implementation, students still struggle to develop their English speaking skills. One of the most important factors about language is that it deals with social contexts and culture[8]. This implies that language is not just a tool for communication but also a symbol of social identity and cultural heritage. It can reflect the social norms, values, and histories of a particular group or society. Thus, it is important to understand a language beyond knowing such as vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and fluency, are the challenges that are usually faced by students when speaking[9].

Vocabulary become the difficulties that must face by the students[10] emphasized the critical role that vocabulary plays in the learning process for students. Without a sufficient vocabulary, students find themselves at a disadvantage as it limits their capacity to construct phrases effectively and express their thoughts clearly. This word limitation can create a significant barrier to both comprehension and expression in a language, which highlights the importance of vocabulary acquisition in language learning. In connection with vocabulary, the use of grammar is also a difficulty that many students encounter. Communication problems occur when the learner encounters a word they do not understand, a form of word they do not know how to use, or find that they are unable to express their intended meaning[11]. Apart from that, sometimes people will also be confused when they arrange the words we want to use to communicate incorrectly

Linguistic difficulties, excessive use of the mother tongue, and inhibition also can be an obstacle students face while they want to develop their English skills. These are attributed to the teachers' beliefs about teaching speaking, teaching strategies, curriculum, extracurricular activities, and assessment[12]. Moreover linguistic variables often pose problems. These include elements of language structure and use, such as grammar and vocabulary, which form the building blocks of language proficiency. Curriculum designers and policymakers should look at the current state of educational system. In particular, they should scrutinize the prevailing curriculum that heavily emphasizes the use of workbook drilling as a primary approach to learning. The central objective of this method, as it stands, is to instill grammatical precision in students [13]. Additionally, pronunciation and intonation can be difficult to master, especially given the diversity and complexity of English phonetics.

Beside knowledge aspect that makes it difficult for students to develop their skills, there are also mental aspects that influence student development, such as anxiety is a state of apprehension and physical arousal that occurs when we cannot control or predict future events[14]. This can manifest in various ways, such as feelings of unease, such as worry or fear, that can range from mild to severe. An individual may experience anxiety as a result of personal stressors like work, relationships, health, or significant life changes. Additionally, anxiety may also be a symptom of other mental health conditions. This makes students hesitate to speak English. Even though students already have thoughts about what they are going to say, they will get carried away by the atmosphere which can put pressure on them so that they become nervous and feel anxious[10]. Beside that it can also make students unconfidence with their performance in front of many people.

However, to achieve the required components, students also need a teacher to guide them. In the complex and dynamic process of teaching and learning, the role of the teacher is not simply to pass on knowledge. Rather, the teacher serves as a facilitator in the classroom, actively guiding and assisting students in their learning journey[15]. They create an environment that encourages student participation and stimulates their curiosity. This dynamic and interactive approach to education fosters an atmosphere that empowers students to take ownership of their learning process. Apart from that, in supporting teaching activities, teachers can also combine their learning strategies with technology which can support their strategies to be more efficient. The teacher can implement Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as an option. It is an approach that uses mobile devices like smartphones or personal digital assistants to help the students develop their language learning process[16]. By using mobile devices like smartphones, the teacher can be more creative in developing students' activities in learning English. The learning strategy serves as an instrumental tool, designed specifically with the purpose of aiding learners [16]. This tool is crucial in speeding up their process of acquiring information, thereby facilitating a more efficient and effective understanding of the subjects they are studying. The teacher can combine those strategies with mobile applications, platforms, or even games. Cater and provide existing features enable students to build skills, master new vocabulary, and improve students' communication skills[17].

One of the mobile application is Letmespeak . Letmespeak is an innovative English learning platform that has been gaining popularity due to its unique Learn-and-Earn approach to language acquisition. The learning process takes place in an RPG (Role-Playing Game) format. Users can complete tasks and quests to upgrade their language knowledge. By following in-game scenarios, such as friendly exchanges between neighbors or boarding a bus, users learn fundamental to advanced vocabulary words. They are trained to listen, read, write, and speak more clearly. All content is in modern, authentic, everyday English, accompanied by full audio voice-overs by native speakers from the United States. The system has its own adaptive algorithm for speech recognition that helps learners monitor their progress and improve their pronunciation over time. Besides that, the AI bot is polite and kind, creating a safe and comfortable environment for users to practice their spoken English skills. Users can engage in dynamic and lively speech, allowing them to practice in various situations, some of which may even be unexpected. Using Letmespeak is not about memorizing phrases that may not apply in real-life situations. Instead, users are presented with tasks to complete, just like in real life. The AI bot evaluates whether the user has completed the task, providing valuable feedback for learners. Letmespeak uses Spaced Repetition learning techniques, Communicative Language Teaching methods, Speech Recognition technologies, and develops its own unique learning content focused on speaking practice in real-life scenarios. This application also focuses on maximizing the benefits of people’s time spent on language learning and making it fun, engaging, and rewarding such as learning new words, improving the user's grammar, and learning to speak.

From the researchers’'s observation at one of Junior High School in Sidoarjo, many students find difficulty to speak English in the learning process. Students have difficulty applying tenses to the conversations they have to say when there is a conversation task. Apart from that, students also find it difficult to learn vocabulary pronunciation because of the limited class hours, so sometimes students forget the vocabulary they want to learn because new vocabulary is replaced at the next meeting. Plus, the use of technology which is deemed less than optimal also makes students often bored during class time. The use of PowerPoint which refers to developing reading skills makes it difficult for students to develop their speaking skills. This is what underlies the researchers’ to apply the Letmespeak application to test the effectiveness of Letmespeak in developing students' speaking skills. The advantages of the Letmespeak application, such as being flexible to learn, and complete features, make researchers’s test this application to help improve students' speaking skills.

The many advantages of Letmespeak mobile application make researchers recommend Letmespeak as one of the media that teachers can use to help learn English including practicing students' speaking skills. In addition, researchers also want to introduce Letmespeak to readers, however, researchers have not found discussions about the use of Letmespeak mobile application. Therefore, this research is intended to analyze the use of Letmespeak which is whether or not this mobile application can be used by students to learn English including speaking skills. Furthermore, the discussion of this research question can be as follows;

Research Question;

Does Letmespeak influence students speaking skill?.

Method

A.Research Design

This research utilizes a quantitative method and employs a pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest posttest approach. Pre-experimental design, as defined by [18], is a design that involves only one group or class, which is provided with both pre- and post-tests. By utilizing the pre-experimental design, the researchers’s can measure the impact and evaluate the outcomes of the treatment in a comprehensive manner. The primary objective of employing this method is to assess the effectiveness of the treatment implemented by the researchers’s in this research. Besides that one-group pretestposttest design contains a pretest, before giving treatment [19], so that in its implementation the researchers’ would provide treatment between the 2 tests carried out to test changes that occur in students' speaking skills.

Table 1.

O1 X O2

Information:

X = treatment given ( Using Letmespeak )

O1 = pretest experimental group

O2 = posttest experimental group (after being given treatment)

Based on observations made by the researchers’ at one of the junior high schools in Sidoarjo, the researchers’ choses one of the 8th grade classes totaling 25 students. They were chosen because of their low speaking skill scores in speaking proccedure tasks. In addition, topics that support the implementation of the application to be tested are one of the factors chosen. By turning the individually conducted procedure text into a conversation, it can further optimize the results that will be obtained in this study. In this study, the researchers’ focus on helping students improve their speaking skills through the application to be tested, especially in conversation.

B.Data Collection Technique

1.Test

The purposes of the test is to measure students ability. The researchers’s can get results to process the data to be studied. Researchers’s would carry out 2 tests, namely pre-test and post-test.

As the first stage in data collection, researchers’s conduct a pretest on students. The researchers’ assisted by the teacher to take the student's scores before treating the students with the application to be tested.

• The researchers’ explain the procedure text material and give and giving the task instruction
• Teacher ask students to find food and drink as the topic.
• After the students get the topic, teacher gives 5-10 minutes for students to prepare the task.
• Student directly present in front of the class.

Test instruction contain several question from the teacher. The test was adapted from [20]

• Tell a procedure text about food.
• Present in front of the class.
• The rubric score of the test was adopted from[21].

As the most important part in collecting final data. The post test is carried out after giving treatment to students. Post test activities include :

• Students choose one of the food that they have been written.
• Students make the video.
• Students showed the video in the class.

Test instruction contain several question from the teacher. The test was adapted from [20].

• Choose one of food that you know , created your procedure text video
• Presents in the class.
• The rubric score of the test was adopted from

2. Treatment

After giving the pretest and getting initial scores from the students, the researchers’ provide treatment in the form of implementing the application. In this part the researchers’ uses 2 meeting to apply the media. The researchers’ use Letmespeak mobile application to create the procedure text. Then the students follows to operate the media after the researchers’. The researchers’ went around to provide guidance and ensure every students understood to operate the media. After the students successfully making the procedure text, then the researchers’ ask the students to present their work orally.

The researchers’ give an example of using letmespeak in making the procedure text. The students are directed to choose a theme that can be connected to the procedure text. Themes that can be chosen such as cafe, free time, home, work can be options that can be connected to the context of the procedure text.

The researchers’ ask students to use letmespeak as a tool to help their learning process. The researchers’ ask students to open the AI conversation features to be a partner for each students to practice while giving treatment. The teacher ask the students to choose one of food. Then students speak and learn English using letmespeak.

• Introduction
• Instruction
• Practice

Researchers’s will ask students to practice conversations using letmespeak during the treatment period. During the treatments process, researchers’s explained the current features that students use to make a procedure text. The researchers’ also giving the students time to make their own procedure text. The students presents their procedure text in every meeting.

After giving treatment for 2 meeting, at the next meeting students get a post-test in the same way as the pre-test. Each student must choose 1 food that students explained how to make it. In this stage, teachers and researchers’s assess students' speaking abilities. The results obtained determine the success of implementing the application being tested, as well as determining the success of this research.

Table 2. Scoring Rubric Adopted from Douglass Brown and J. Heaton’s Book [21] .

SCORE	Fluency	Pronounciation	Grammar	Comprehantion
1	(No specific fluency description.refer to other four language area to implied level of fluency)	Erros in pronounciation are frequent,but can be understood by a native speaker,used dealing with for engineers attempting to speak his language.	Errors in grammar are frequent,but speaker can be understood by a native speaker used to dealing with foreigners attempting to speak his language	Within the scope of his vert limited language experience, can understand simple question and statemnts if deliverd with slowed speech,or pharaphase.
2	Can handel with confident but not with facilty most socialsituation ,including introduction and casual convercations about current evens as as work,familyand autobiographical information	Accent is intelligible though often faulty.	Can usually handle elementary construction quite accurately but does not have thorough or confidents control of grammar.	Can get the gist of most conversastion of non- technical subject(i.,e., topics that require no speasialized knowledge).
3	Can discuss particular intresr of competence with reasonable ease rarely has to grop for words.	Errors never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker. Accent may be obviously foreign.	Control of grammar is good. Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversational topics.	Comperhansion is quite complete at a normal rate of speech.
4	Abel to use language fluently on all levels normality pertinent to professional needs. Can participate in any conversation within the range with a high degree of fluency.	Errors in pronounciation are quite rare.	Able to use language accurately on all level normally pertinent to professional needs. Are quite rare	Can understand any conversation within the range of his experience.
5	Has complete fluency nin the language such that his speech is flully accepted by	Equivalent to and fully accepted by educated native speakers.	Equivalent to that of an educated native speaker.	Equivalent to that of am educated native speaker.

3. Data Analysis

In managing test result data, researchers’s used a paired sample t test using the SPSS application. The result of the data determined by comparing the means of both the pretest and the posttest. When using a paired sample t test, there were two results that will appear: there is a change in students after treatment, and there were no change in students after treatment. so that in the formula, the hypothesis will be :

H0: There was no change in students' speaking scores after being given treatment.

H1: There was a change in students' speaking scores after being given treatment.

so that in making data decisions using the significance value in the SPSS table, the sig value. (2-tailed) will be compared with α (0.05). which will have two results.

If the sig value. (signification) > alpha (0.05), then H0 will be accepted.

If the sig value. (signification) is < alpha (0.05), then H0 will be rejected.nmmuuaHasil

Result and Discussion

Table 3.

Paired Samples Statistics
		Mean	N	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean
Pair 1	Pretest	62,88	25	7,710	1,542
	Posttest	76,00	25	5,831	1,166

In calculating the data that the researchers’ had obtained from his research, the results obtained were in the form of changes that occurred in students' scores at the pre-test and post-test stages. In this stage, researchers’s found student grades that did not match the specified standards. In the pre-test stage, 23 students got a score below the kkm (75) which is the standard score for students and 2 students only got a score above the kkm. After that, calculations using SPSS carried out by the researchers’ showed that at the pre-test stage, all 25 students (N) obtained a total score of 1,572 with a mean score of 62.88 (63) and std. deviation 7.710. From the calculations above, it can be concluded that students' speaking skills are still lacking, especially in fluency, compression and grammar, this can be seen from the results they get which are below the standard scores. It's different at the post test stage, where at this stage the students who scored below the kkm were reduced to 15 from initially only 2 students. In the post test stage there were 8 students who got scores below the kkm and 17 students got scores above the kkm. After that, calculations using SPSS carried out by the researchers’ showed that at the pre-test stage, all 25 students (N) got a total score of 1,900 with a mean score of 76.00 and std. deviation 5.831. After looking at the post test calculations, it can be concluded that there has been an increase in students both in grades and in the number of students who scored above kkm. After carrying out a normality test and the results showed that the data obtained by the researchers’ was normal, the researchers’ continued testing the data with the paired t test.

Table 4.

Paired Samples Test
		Paired Differences					T	Df	Sig. (2-tailed)
				95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
				Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	Lower	Upper
Pair 1	Pretest - Posttest	-13,120	4,003	,801	-14,772	-11,468	-16,386	24	,000

In the table it can be seen that the mean value of the pre and post test (13.120) with std deviation (4.003) and std error mean (801), the data above also shows a lower different (- 14,772) and an upper different (- 11,468), with t which shows the value (- 16.386), df which shows the number (24) and significance which shows the number (0.000). From the calculation results above the final result of sig. (2-tailed) which shows 0.000 < 0.05. After the data results above are obtained, it can be concluded that there are significant changes in the students' pre-test and post-test scores. So it can be concluded that LETMESPEAK can be implemented as a mobile learning application that students can use to develop students' English speaking skills in junior high school.

Discussion

English speaking skills are an important need that students must learn as a skill to communicate. The many aspects that need to be learned are an obstacle for students to learn to develop their speaking skills. The impact can be seen with the low scores of students who are below the kkm. This happened in one of the junior high schools in Sidoarjo. The low scores of the students were caused by the difficulty of the students in developing their speaking skills. In the pre-test, it can be seen that many students' scores were below the standard. This proves that students still need to practice their speaking skills. Maximizing the use of technology can be an option for teachers and students to learn English.

Giving treatment using Letmespeak mobile application for 2 meetings can be said to have given positive results for students. After giving treatment, the researcher conducted a post-test to test students' progress. After doing the post-test, students experienced many improvements including student scores. It can be seen that when doing the pre-test the average student score was 62.88 and after doing the post-test the average student score was 76.00.

The increase in grades that occurs in students indicates that Letmespeak mobile application can affect students including improving students' speaking skills. Making Letmespeak mobile application as one of the learning media for students is able to develop students' speaking skills, by using the available features students can increase their knowledge which can be seen from the increase in their grades.

Conclusion

The final results of the research conducted by the researchers’s are clearly visible in the results section. there are changes in the students' grades which show that there is an improvement in the students' speaking skills. the experience that the students get when using the letmespeak mobile application makes the students gain new knowledge that can improve their English skills. the results obtained make the letmespeak mobile application can be used as a learning tool. In addition, letmespeak mobile application can be used as a learning medium for students, which teachers can use to make the learning process more interesting.

Using the Letmespeak mobile application can help students develop their text procedure speaking skills. Apart from that, there are features that help students learn how to read correctly, so that students can more easily develop their speaking skills. Those advantages that support students in improving their speaking skills mean that the letmespeak application can be used as an innovation as a medium used to practice English speaking skills. The many positive things obtained can also be a reference for researchers’s to be able to maximize this application so that it can be used better for students who are learning to speak English.

Unfortunately, every media used must have disadvantages. For future research, researchers hope that future researchers can maximize the use of Letmespeak. Future researchers can add more material that is more in accordance with the advantages of this mobile application. In addition, it would be better if future researchers increase the number of students in accordance with the provisions of a study, which can further refine research on the use of Letmespeak mobile application as an English language learning media.