Examining English-Majored Students’ Performance and Attitudes towards ChatGPT and an Online Dictionary for Lookup

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.24611

Keywords:

ChatGPT, online dictionaries, lookup, English-Majored students

Abstract

It is true that the recent boom of artificial intelligence (AI), together with generative AI, has substantially transformed language education in myriad facets. In this context, powerful AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bing AI, or Gemini have become worthy competitors to dictionaries. Hence, the aims of this study were to (1) compare the performance of English-majored students in doing receptive and productive lexical tasks when using ChatGPT and online Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (OLD) as consultation tools and (2) investigate their attitudes towards these two tools in language learning. A quasi-experiment was conducted with 60 Vietnamese English-majored students at Saigon University to achieve these objectives, followed by a questionnaire. The results revealed that students with the assistance of OLD had higher mean scores than those with ChatGPT in the receptive tasks, while the opposite is true for the productive ones. In addition, ChatGPT contributed to noticeably higher improvement scores between the pre-test and post-test in both receptive and productive tasks. In addition, the students also showed positive attitudes towards these tools for their language learning. These findings can provide valuable insights into the current picture among language education, AI, and dictionaries.

Author Biographies

Mai Hoang Viet, Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mai Hoang Viet has been working for the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Saigon University since 2023. Mai Hoang Viet received a master's degree in English language at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) in 2022. Mai Hoang Viet's research interest mainly relates to English language skills and teaching development.

Tran The Phi, Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tran The Phi has been working for the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Saigon University since 2010. He received a doctorate in linguistics and literature from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM. His research interests are in cognitive semantics, curriculum development, and English teaching methods.

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Published

2024-11-29

How to Cite

Mai, H. V., & Tran, T. P. (2024). Examining English-Majored Students’ Performance and Attitudes towards ChatGPT and an Online Dictionary for Lookup. Proceedings of the AsiaCALL International Conference, 6, 144–156. https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.24611