Research Article
Liqaa Habeb Al-Obaydi, Marcel Pikhart, Md Kamal Hossain
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 4, Article No: ep591
ABSTRACT
Chatbots with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, such as ChatGPT, are an important tool for language learning because they provide an interactive and adaptive learning environment that can be adjusted to each learner’s level of skill. This paper explores the application of ChatGPT, an advanced AI-powered chatbot, as a tool for language learning, focusing on the development of core language skills such as speaking, reading, writing, listening, and communication. The study involves 30 English as a foreign language college students from two different higher education contexts, Iraq and the Czech Republic. The research utilizes two methods; content analysis by asking direct questions and using ChatGPT as a guide to recommend actions is the second phase, followed by an exercise partner and rater. Jigsaw technique is also used to assign language skills to the groups of participants to consult ChatGPT then share and evaluate its effectiveness. A phenomenographic research design using an interview was used to gather data for this study, which accurately reflects how a group of people views a certain phenomenon. Following the six-week experiment, the participants are interviewed to get their thoughts on using ChatGPT to improve language skills. The findings indicate that ChatGPT’s content analysis method has limited effectiveness in developing language skills due to the kind of output gained which is only instructions and/or recommendations. However, using ChatGPT as a guide and then as a partner offers very big support for students in all language skills, with varied results influenced by the prompts used. Students generally have positive attitudes toward using ChatGPT, finding it essential for developing their speaking (75%), writing (100%), listening (87%), reading (87%), and communication (75%). The study suggests that ChatGPT may be more advantageous for students if it is used in regular language practice for a long period of time.
Keywords: ChatGPT, foreign language learning, core language skills, second language acquisition, digital learning, chatbots, artificial intelligence in education
Research Article
Keith E. Nelson, Aran Barlieb, Kiren Khan, Elisabeth M. Vance Trup, Mikael Heimann, Tomas Tjus, Mary Rudner, Jerker Ronnberg
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 3, pp. 184-200
ABSTRACT
How individual differences in information processing affect second language (L2) learning has been unclear in prior research. Adults lacking prior skill in Swedish were pretested for working memory, processing speed, and executive memory capacity. Participants then received 6 computer-based instructional sessions with pictorial animations of Swedish sentences, with a built-in experimental contrast between some lessons at high and some at low rates of presentation. The faster rate carried greater processing demands for the learners. Higher levels of Swedish performance during Instructional sessions were associated with higher working memory levels, as expected from widely-used models of working memory (e.g., Baddeley & Hitch, 1994). In contrast, results at demanding long-term retrieval on a posttest were more complex and revealed several dynamic relationships between processing speed, working memory, and Swedish language learning. Learners with low rather than high working memory showed higher L2 skills at long-term testing when instructional lessons had employed fast animations. This first-time demonstration that prior cognitive profiles strongly influence learners’ progress in second language requires refinements in existing theories. Further, the results hold certain implications for tailoring second language teaching on-line or in other technology-based instruction to learner profiles on abilities in working memory, processing speed, and executive memory
Keywords: Educational technology, Software, Designing learner-sensitive procedures, Computer-assisted learning, Second language acquisition, Dynamic systems