Utilization of artificial intelligence technology in an academic writing class: How do Indonesian students perceive?

Abstract

Research shows that artificial intelligence (AI) technology positively influences students’ writing skills, but this area has yet to be touched by Indonesian researchers. This study aims to map perception, obstacles, and recommendations for optimizing use of AI in teaching academic writing in Indonesian. This article focuses on a case study of three senior high schools in Central Java, Indonesia. It employs quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher collected the data using questionnaires presented with Likert scale, followed by an in-depth interview through mobile instant messaging interview. Findings show that (1) AI-based learning tools help students to do academic research, especially in the planning step, to identify and develop the topics, as well as in the drafting step, to develop a paper draft, (2) AI-based learning tools are deemed flexible in accessibility despite not being able to cover all necessities required by students in writing process, (3) students are interested in using AI technology in academic writing class so that learning process will not be boring. Although AI has been used in academic writing classes, tools have not positively impacted quality of students’ academic papers in all indicators. There are several obstacles to using AI, namely (1) need for more available feature, especially in editing Indonesian text, and (2) in contrast, the features still need to be optimized. These are the recommendations for the optimization of AI-based learning tools, which are (1) adding features to edit Indonesian text, including spelling, diction, and sentence structure, and (2) enhancing AI literacy to be able to explore and leverage the existing features optimally. This research has yet to accommodate the possible coverage in checking the originality and accuracy of the written product assisted by AI-based learning tools, which could become a focus for future researchers.

Enhancing academic writing skills and motivation: assessing the efficacy of ChatGPT in AI-assisted language learning for EFL students

“…This heightened engagement in writing activities potentially contributed to the development of the learners' academic writing skills. These findings align with the research of Utami and Winarni (2023), who also found that AI-powered language learning tools improved EFL learners' engagement in writing activities, consequently leading to improvements in writing skills. The qualitative findings of the current study further corroborated these quantitative findings, as learners exhibited positive responses toward the integration of the AI-assisted language learning approach into their writing activities.…”

“…These quantitative findings resonate with the observations made by Liu et al (2021) and Yan (2023), who underscored the profound contributions of AI-assisted language learning tools in advancing EFL learners' writing abilities. Moreover, these findings harmonize with the outcomes identified by Rahman et al (2022) and Utami and Winarni (2023), which accentuated the positive influence of AI-powered language learning on EFL learners' motivation and their heightened engagement in writing tasks.…”

“…The interactive nature of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, allows learners to actively participate in the writing process, seeking immediate feedback and refining their writing skills in real-time. This heightened engagement, facilitated by the AI tool's responsiveness, contributes to the observed improvements in writing skills and motivation (Liu et al, 2021;Utami and Winarni, 2023).…”

“…The results indicated significant improvement in the EFL learners' writing skills, and the learners themselves expressed positive perceptions regarding the effects of AI-assisted language learning on their writing abilities. Utami and Winarni (2023) conducted a case study research on three Indonesian EFL learners, exploring their use of AI-assisted language learning for academic research writing. Through a combination of quantitative data collected via questionnaires and qualitative data obtained through interviews, the findings revealed that AI-assisted language learning tools positively contributed to the learners' academic research writing and increased their engagement in such tasks.…”

“…The existing literature review underscores the substantial impact of AI-assisted language learning tools on improving various facets of writing skills and engagement among English language learners (Nazari et al, 2021;Abdullayeva and Musayeva, 2023;Su et al, 2023;Utami and Winarni, 2023;Yan, 2023). This body of research highlights the positive perceptions of English language learners regarding the integration of AI tools into writing activities (Rahman et al, 2022;Utami and Winarni, 2023). While these findings have significantly contributed to our understanding of the potential benefits of AI in language learning, several factors underscore the need for a more focused investigation.…”