ChatGPT: The Language Learning Buddy
International Students Share How ChatGPT Helped in Their English Language Learning
Like most students who are going to take English exams to get into their dreamed university aboard, a Chinese student named Yinhe Caller has been determined to improve her English skills to achieve a high score in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Due to a high tuition fee of IETLS preparation course, Yinhe has tried out many cost-effective ways to study IELTS by herself, ultimately finding success in using ChatGPT to receive writing feedback. The IELTS preparation course costs range approximately USD 3000 to USD 5600 per 100-hour course, as offered by various IETLS preparation course providers in China such as Manhattan Review, New Channel IELTS, and New Oriental.
Second-language students have only two choices: either study hard on their own or pay a high tuition fee. Nevertheless, students need tutors to give feedback on their learning, especially for writing and speaking skills. ChatGPT, therefore, can play this vital role for English language learners to improve their skills.
Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT has rapidly become one of the most popular artificial intelligent platforms, with 1.6 billion active users as of March 2023, according to Demand Sage, a leader in the tech market analysis industry known for their expertise in Google Sheet-based reporting and analytics.
It is now available in more than 95 languages and almost in every country except China, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus, and Venezuela.
ChatGPT only needs simple orders from its users so it can translate texts, write academic essays, scripts and poems. Given the incredible features of ChatGPT, students can easily use it to cheat on their essay assignments or online exams.
However, ChatGPT also has positive impacts on language learning, as demonstrated by Yinhe's success.
The success story also raises the possibility for educators, especially IELTS tutors, that their teaching careers may be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) in the future.
"ChatGPT can generate topics for discussion and creative writing prompts for students to write creatively."
- TESOL International association, 2023
Student 1
Name: Yilin Zhao
University：Communication university of Zhejiang
"In fact, the main thing Chatgpt does save me a lot of time, money and energy," Yilin said.
Relying on massive data, ChatGPT can randomly generate speaking exercises for students to practise speaking.
At the same time, Chatgpt can help students check articles, find grammatical errors, and improve their written expression skills.
"I also use it to help me write some IELTS essays with some specific expressions," he said.
As a powerful intelligent platform, it can also help students quickly access to the resources they need, but you cannot count on ChatGPT to help you pass the IELTS test.
"I think you have to rely on your own subjective initiative," Yilin said.
Student 2
Name：Mossi
University：University of Sydney
Mossi, who has participated in the IELTS test several times, is now successfully enrolling in the University of Sydney Business School. Her school used to set up lectures to guide students on how to use the ChatGPT.
Because ChatGPT is a very powerful and versatile tool, its usage is extremely high.
"It can be used in any way, so I use it a lot, nearly every time I need to search for something," Mossi said while opening the ChatGPT.
Based on the fact that ChatGPT has a strong ability to construct logic, Mossi learned how to think in the English-language environment.
"Besides, it can help me modify my grammatical errors and use more localised vocabulary," she said.
Using ChatGPT not only provides more possibilities for obtaining successful IELTS scores but also catches the attention of IELTS teachers.
Cheng Che is an experienced IELTS educator and the teacher trainer for UK Pearson, with experience in using ChatGPT.
"ChatGPT could help students in prepare for the IELTS, but the function is very limited," he said.
For the IELTS speaking part, he pointed out that ChatGPT can provide some materials and ideas to help students answer speaking test. However, this test requires examiners to ask more deep questions targeted at the students' answers.
"The ChatGPT technology until cannot do that...everything is very different from the real atmosphere for the IELTS Speaking tests," said Che.
For the IELTS writing part, he mentioned that ChatGPT just can give students limited advice, such as on vocabulary and grammar, but can' t provide suggestions on logic aspect that is the essence of writing tasks.
When asking IELTS teachers if they worry that ChatGPT threatens their careers, they have a positive attitude.
Che explained that ChatGPT could be a tool to help IELTS teachers prepare personalised answers of new topics in speaking parts for different students, if teachers don't have enough energy and time.
"The relationship between the teacher and ChatGPT in the future IELTS teaching class could be the positive, not enemy," he said.
One of the teachers in the New Channel IELTS training institution, Julia Zhu (not her actual name on her request), also said she thought ChatGPT had little effect on her language training institution, and teachers also use ChatGPT, for example, providing speaking materials, in their teaching plans.
A senior lecturer and expert in AI in the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne, Dr. Nir Lipovetzky, finds both drawbacks and benefits of ChatGPT usage in the context of education.
The main concern of Dr. Lipovetzky is not so much about ChatGPT as educating students to be responsible about their learning. Dr. Lipovetzky suggests students explore and use it as a tool for education but not as shortcut in their learning.
During the campus interviews at the University of Melbourne, all of interviewees have heard ChatGPT, although most of them have not used it.
When talking about ChatGPT helping people improve their English skills, some interviewees were surprised, some felt it was true even though they said they didn't know about it, and some were calm and thought it was possible, and said ChatGPT could help people revise grammar and make better sentences.
Some of the interviewees recognised ChatGPT as a useful tool for students. However, they acknowledged the possibility of some certain professions being replaced by AI in the future.
Recognition of ChatGPT as a learning buddy and the successful story of Yinhe in improving her IELTS writing score using ChatGPT have paved the way for other students to enhance their learning proficiency on their own.
Yinhe finds ChatGPT so intelligent and exclaims, "I truly regret not having discovered ChatGPT earlier!"
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