Perceptions of Bachelor Level Students on ChatGPT for Developing English Writing Skills

Abstract

Developing English writing skills at Bachelor level is a challenging task for students, particularly in academic settings where they struggle with coherence, grammatical accuracy, free writing, and idea organization. With the rise of artificial intelligence, tools like ChatGPT have emerged as potential aids for improving students' writing proficiency. This study explores the perceptions of Bachelor-level students regarding the usefulness of ChatGPT in developing their English writing skills, focusing on its opportunities and challenges. To carry out this study, a survey method was employed, involving 60 students from three colleges. Quantitative data were collected through the survey responses. The collected data were analyzed descriptively to explore students' perceptions, highlighting key trends and insights. The findings reveal that students perceive ChatGPT as a valuable tool for enhancing writing skills, particularly for generating ideas, improving grammar, providing instant feedback, enhancing vocabulary, and refining sentence structures. However, the study also highlights certain challenges and ethical concerns, such as ChatGPT reducing independent thinking, critical analysis, creativity, and imagination. Additionally, students expressed concerns about misinformation, academic dishonesty, and plagiarism. The results suggest that ChatGPT can be an effective supplementary tool in writing instruction; therefore, students should use it strategically to encourage active learning and critical thinking. This research is structured into five chapters. The initial chapter, known as the introduction, encompasses the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitations of the study, and operational definitions of the key terms. The subsequent chapter focuses on reviewing theoretical and empirical literature, as well as discussing its implications. Additionally, it presents the conceptual framework. The third chapter is dedicated to the methodology, covering the study's design, population, sample and sampling procedure, research tools, sources of data, data collection and analysis procedures, and ethical considerations. The fourth chapter involves the analysis and interpretation of data. Lastly, the fifth chapter presents the findings, conclusions, and implications derived from this study. It is followed by references and appendices.