AI Twin: Enhancing ESL Speaking Practice through AI Self-Clones of a Better Me

TL;DR

AI Twin is a personalized AI system that rephrases ESL learners' speech into more fluent English in their own voice, boosting motivation and emotional engagement by providing implicit, supportive feedback grounded in psychological theory.

Contribution

This paper introduces AI Twin, a novel AI-powered system that enhances ESL speaking practice by rephrasing learner speech in their voice to promote motivation and confidence.

Findings

AI Twin increased emotional engagement among learners.

Participants found AI Twin more motivating than other methods.

Implicit rephrasing supported conversational flow and confidence.

Abstract

Advances in AI have enabled ESL learners to practice speaking through conversational systems. However, most tools rely on explicit correction, which can interrupt the conversation and undermine confidence. Grounded in second language acquisition and motivational psychology, we present AI Twin, a system that rephrases learner utterances into more fluent English and delivers them in the learner's voice. Embodying a more confident and proficient version of the learner, AI Twin reinforces motivation through alignment with their aspirational Ideal L2 Self. Also, its use of implicit feedback through rephrasing preserves conversational flow and fosters an emotionally supportive environment. In a within-subject study with 20 adult ESL learners, we compared AI Twin with explicit correction and a non-personalized rephrasing agent. Results show that AI Twin elicited higher emotional engagement, with participants describing the experience as more motivating. These findings highlight the potential of self-representative AI for personalized, psychologically grounded support in ESL learning.