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Since the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022, it has emerged as a pivotal point of discourse worldwide, particularly within the educational sphere. While the initial fascination about the use of ChatGPT in educational settings seems to have somewhat diminished, its numerous facets are yet to be fully unveiled and understood. One area which requires further exploration is the way language learners can use ChatGPT as a tool for self-learning and how teachers can adequately guide them. Although the benefits associated with using ChatGPT for language learning purposes have been noted by various scholars (e.g., Kohnke et al., 2023), it is unclear whether learners themselves are aware of them and are able to use them on their own. The current study therefore aimed to reveal learners’ perspectives and experiences regarding the utilisation of ChatGPT for self-study. As language teachers hold a central role in guiding learners how to use such tools effectively, the second part of the study was to investigate their perceptions of ChatGPT and their methods of learning about the tool. The study involved two primary data collection procedures: Firstly, to gain learners’ insights, a questionnaire was distributed to students in two intact English classes at a private Japanese university who were offered a short guidance session of how to use ChatGPT on their own to practise English. Secondly, a separate questionnaire tailored for language teachers was administered, accompanied by interviews to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of teachers’ needs and thoughts about ChatGPT. Through the study, the current challenges for the use of ChatGPT as a tool for self-learning are identified, and implications for how to better guide learners in using the free online tool are suggested.
References :
Kohnke, L., Moorhouse, B. L., & Zou, D. (2023). ChatGPT for language teaching and learning. RELC Journal, 1—14. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882231162868
| Keywords | ChatGPT, language teaching, AI, artificial intelligence |
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