Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English

This article explores the perceptions of university students on the use of ChatGPT for academic writing in English. Participants (n = 79) are all students on mandatory English-language courses at a university Language Centre in Finland. They are predominantly first-year bachelor’s degree students f...

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Main Authors: Peter Launonen, Ekaterina Talalakina, Galyna Dubova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cracow Tertium Society for the Promotion of Language Studies 2024-11-01
Series:Półrocznik Językoznawczy Tertium
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.tertium.edu.pl/JaK/article/view/274
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author Peter Launonen
Ekaterina Talalakina
Galyna Dubova
author_facet Peter Launonen
Ekaterina Talalakina
Galyna Dubova
author_sort Peter Launonen
collection DOAJ
description This article explores the perceptions of university students on the use of ChatGPT for academic writing in English. Participants (n = 79) are all students on mandatory English-language courses at a university Language Centre in Finland. They are predominantly first-year bachelor’s degree students from various degree programmes in different faculties. Participants’ insights were collected via a survey that was administered to several intact groups during the autumn semester of 2023. The survey collected quantitative and qualitative data which were analysed and discussed in light of students’ developing academic writing skills in English. The study sheds light on students’ specific uses of the AI-driven tool as well as their perceptions of its impact on not only the writing process and product, but also on their own writing skills. The results indicated that students perceived ChatGPT to have above average usability, a finding which was supported and elucidated by students’ free responses concerning ways in which they have used this technology. Conversely, the reasons that some students had not used it included, amongst others, a lack of need, ethical concerns and doubts about its usefulness. Given the continued development and availability of large language models such as ChatGPT, this research has clear implications for all stakeholders in higher education. In particular, by illustrating how students utilise ChatGPT in their academic writing, the study provides university language teachers with the insights needed to ensure that their course outcomes, content and assessments remain reflective of students’ developing knowledge and study practices.
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spelling doaj-art-055ad9aac5584bec88d2c59f4865f7c12024-11-18T05:28:16ZengCracow Tertium Society for the Promotion of Language StudiesPółrocznik Językoznawczy Tertium2543-78442024-11-019110.7592/Tertium.2024.9.1.274Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in EnglishPeter Launonen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7435-7163Ekaterina Talalakina1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4972-6035Galyna Dubova2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4112-5083Tampere UniversityTampere UniversityTampere University This article explores the perceptions of university students on the use of ChatGPT for academic writing in English. Participants (n = 79) are all students on mandatory English-language courses at a university Language Centre in Finland. They are predominantly first-year bachelor’s degree students from various degree programmes in different faculties. Participants’ insights were collected via a survey that was administered to several intact groups during the autumn semester of 2023. The survey collected quantitative and qualitative data which were analysed and discussed in light of students’ developing academic writing skills in English. The study sheds light on students’ specific uses of the AI-driven tool as well as their perceptions of its impact on not only the writing process and product, but also on their own writing skills. The results indicated that students perceived ChatGPT to have above average usability, a finding which was supported and elucidated by students’ free responses concerning ways in which they have used this technology. Conversely, the reasons that some students had not used it included, amongst others, a lack of need, ethical concerns and doubts about its usefulness. Given the continued development and availability of large language models such as ChatGPT, this research has clear implications for all stakeholders in higher education. In particular, by illustrating how students utilise ChatGPT in their academic writing, the study provides university language teachers with the insights needed to ensure that their course outcomes, content and assessments remain reflective of students’ developing knowledge and study practices. https://journal.tertium.edu.pl/JaK/article/view/274academic EnglishChatGPTwriting skillsstudent perceptionswriting process
spellingShingle Peter Launonen
Ekaterina Talalakina
Galyna Dubova
Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
Półrocznik Językoznawczy Tertium
academic English
ChatGPT
writing skills
student perceptions
writing process
title Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
title_full Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
title_fullStr Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
title_full_unstemmed Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
title_short Students' Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Academic Writing in English
title_sort students perceptions of using chatgpt for academic writing in english
topic academic English
ChatGPT
writing skills
student perceptions
writing process
url https://journal.tertium.edu.pl/JaK/article/view/274
work_keys_str_mv AT peterlaunonen studentsperceptionsofusingchatgptforacademicwritinginenglish
AT ekaterinatalalakina studentsperceptionsofusingchatgptforacademicwritinginenglish
AT galynadubova studentsperceptionsofusingchatgptforacademicwritinginenglish