THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELSA APPLICATION TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT THE TENTH GRADE AT MAN PALOPO

This study investigates the effectiveness of the ELSA (English Language Speech Assistant) application in improving students’ speaking skills. It aims to address the research question of whether the use of the ELSA application can significantly enhance students’ speaking ability. The scope of the study is limited to tenth-grade students at MAN Palopo, focusing on four aspects of speaking skills: fluency,
pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. This research employed a pre�experimental design using a one-group pretest–posttest approach. The population consisted of tenth-grade students at MAN Palopo, and the sample was selected
through convenience sampling. The research instrument was a speaking test consisting of three questions administered through individual interviews. Data were analyzed using a paired-sample t-test. The findings reveal that the mean score of
the pretest was 38.63, which increased to 55.54 in the posttest. The results of the paired-sample t-test showed a t value of -7.346 with a significance level of p < 0.05, indicating that the improvement in students’ speaking skills after the treatment was statistically significant. These findings confirm that the use of the ELSA application significantly enhances students’ speaking abilities. This is further supported by the t-test results, where the calculated t value exceeds the critical t value, and the significance value (p-value) is less than 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis (H₀) is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (Hₐ) is accepted. In conclusion, the ELSA
application is effective in improving the speaking skills of tenth-grade students at MAN Palopo.

Keywords: ELSA application, experimental research, pronunciation, speaking skills, vocabulary