EXPLORING ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF USING CHATGPT TO PRACTICE SUMMARIZING AND ANALYSING FOR IELTS WRITING TASK 1

Abstract

To English students, being able to summarize and analyse visual material is an important skill, particularly concerning IELTS Writing Task 1, where accurate analysis and description are imperative for achieving high scores. There are still traditional ways of helping students to develop these skills, such as instruction within classrooms and practice with sample tasks, but using AI tools like ChatGPT has provided students with a new pathway into language acquisition. However, there are limited existing studies that specifically focus on this matter. Therefore, the study looks into how students perceive the benefits and challenges of using ChatGPT to practice analysing and summarizing for IELTS Writing Task 1. A mixed-methods design is adopted in the research study. The quantitative data which was derived from a questionnaire and the qualitative data that was derived from the comments to which students responded in the open-ended questions, can provide a chance to study students' views on the benefits and challenges of using ChatGPT. The questionnaire was given to 100 students, including the open-ended questions, with the primary group being English majors from cohorts 47-50 in Can Tho University's School of Foreign Languages. The secondary purpose is also addressed in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data in relation to student responses. The results demonstrate that students find ChatGPT to be a very useful resource for time-saving, writing organization, vocabulary development, and confidence building about the summarizing and analysing of visual materials. The students also acknowledge that the tool has drawbacks, mentioning that ChatGPT sometimes provides inaccurate or irrelevant responses, and express concerns over over-reliance possibly having negative effects by affecting the development of critical thinking and independent skills. These findings demonstrate that ChatGPT has implications as a tool for preparing for the IELTS test, but these implications are limited by the need for critical engagement to achieve the potential maximum benefit.