Speakers
Description
While initial second language (L2) literature on ChatGPT was limited to descriptive articles that outlined the potential impact that the AI chatbot might have on the field, empirical research on the AI chatbot has begun to appear. For instance, researchers have examined the tool’s effectiveness for L2 writing assessment (Mizumoto & Eguchi, 2023; Pfau et al., 2023) and L2 teachers' and students' perceptions of the generative AI chatbot (Jeon & Lee, 2023; Yan, 2023). Nonetheless, empirical L2 research on ChatGPT is still needed, particularly in the context of self-regulated language learning. Moreover, it is unknown how prevalent generative AI use is among L2 learners. This presentation reports on a survey-based study that fills these gaps in the literature by addressing the following two research questions:
1) What are Japanese university English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ practices of ChatGPT for self-regulated L2 English learning?
2) What are Japanese university EFL students’ perceptions of ChatGPT for self-regulated L2 English learning?
A mixed-method research design was utilized to answer these two research questions, with survey data being collected from two private universities and one national university in Japan. At the start of the fall 2023 semester, the survey was administered and a total of 521 respondents fully completed it. While qualitative analysis concerning the EFL students’ perceptions of ChatGPT is still ongoing, quantitative analysis related to the students’ practices has revealed some interesting findings. For example, less than 25% of the participants (n =130) had used ChatGPT in their English studies. Summarizing information written in the English language and translation were the top reported uses of ChatGPT for L2 English learning. Full results of the research and the study’s implications will be discussed during the presentation.
| Keywords | artificial intelligence (AI), chatbot, self-regulated language learning, informal language learning |
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