CHO MINKYUNG (CHANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY)

EXPLORING THE AFFORDANCES OF CHATGPT IN COLLEGE ENGLISH CLASSROOM FOR READING AND WRITING : DIGITAL LITERACIES/LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY

Recently, the emergence of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) called ChatGPT has brought about promises as well as concerns to the field of English education. ChatGPT is discussed to offer benefits in teaching and learning through personalized tutoring, automated writing feedback, and language translation. The potential drawbacks of using such AI tools include the potential for bias and misinformation and lack of human interaction in instructional practice. Given such promises and concerns, it is crucial that teachers and students reflect upon their practices of using ChatGPT, including both positive and negative aspects. The current research is a case study of a college English course where ChatGPT was heavily used as a medium to teach reading and writing skills. Data points come from teaching materials, student work using ChatGPT (e.g., summary of reading, outlining, revision of writing) and student reflection logs after each activity using ChatGPT. Qualitative method of data analysis will be conducted and triangulation among data points are done. The findings show that students recognize both the affordances and the downside of using ChatGPT when reading and writing in English. This study offers insights into the various opportunities and challenges of using ChatGPT and shed light to the importance of users’ reflective practices in deciding their future usage of tools like ChatGPT.

Minkyung Cho is an assistant professor in the department of English language and literature at Changwon National University in South Korea. She specializes in English education and conducts research on language and literacy development for diverse populations.