AI Tools in Teaching and Learning English Academic Writing Skills

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.23413

Keywords:

Technology; AI tools, academic writing skills

Abstract

Recently, the application of innovative technological solutions has revolutionized various aspects of our lives, and education is no exception. This study investigated the use of AI-powered tools and their effects on teaching and learning English academic writing skills. The research was conducted with the participation of 5 teachers and 60 students from five academic writing classes in two language centers in Hanoi. Data from the research were mainly collected through tests and questionnaires. Interviews were used as a supporting tool. The research findings indicate that teachers and students have positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI), and AI tools are beneficial to the participants at discourse, sentence, and word/phase levels. The application of AI-powered writing tools has a considerable contribution to the students in terms of cohesion and coherence, lexical resources, grammatical range, and accuracy. The study can be considered an informative source of reference for teachers and students who are teaching and learning academic writing, especially prospective candidates for standardized English tests.

Author Biography

Tran Thi Thu Hien, VNU University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam

Tran Thi Thu Hien is the Deputy Director of Center for Language Testing and Assessment, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU (ULIS-VNU). In this role, she leads a training team providing professional development courses for teachers of English. With background and experience in both pedagogy and applied linguistics, Hien varies her interests in ESP/CLIL, methodology, language testing and assessment.

References

Bailey, S. (2011). The essentials of academic writing for international students. (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Baleghizadeh, S. & Gordani, Y. (2012). Academic Writing and Grammatical Accuracy: The Role of Corrective Feedback. Gist: Education and Learning Research Journal, 6, 159–176. https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.19

Batanero, J. M. F, Rueda, M. M., Cerero, R. F. & Gravan, P. R. (2021). Impact of ICT on writing and reading skills: A systematic review (2010 – 2020). Language and Technology. 14 (2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.35699/1983-3652.2021.34055. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35699/1983-3652.2021.34055

Brown, T.B., Mann, B., Ryder, N., Subbiah, M., Kaplan, J., Dhariwal, P., Neelakantan, A., Shyam, P., Sastry, G., Askell, A., Agarwal, S., Herbert-Voss, A., Krueger, G., Henighan, T., Child, R., Ramesh, A., Ziegler, D. M., Wu, J., Winter, C. & Amodei, D. (2005). Language models are few-shot learners. arXiv. Computer Science, Computation and Language.

Byrne, D. (1993). Teaching writing skills. Longman

Celce-Murcia, M. (1991). Grammar pedagogy in second and foreign language teaching. TESOL quarterly. 25 (3). 459-480. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3586980

Chauhan, P. (2022). Fundamentals of Academic Writing: A Literature Review. Journal of NELTA, 27(1-2), 161-180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v27i1-2.53201

Chen, M. X., Lee, B. N., Bansal, G., Cao, Y., Zhang, S., Lu, J., & Wu, Y. (2019). Gmail smart compose: Real-time assisted writing. In Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGKDD international conference on knowledge discovery & data mining. 2287–2295. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3292500.3330723

Chen, W., & Wei, H. (2021). Effect of an AI-powered writing assistant on writing quality and idea generation. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 24(3), 84–97.

Cheung, Y. L. (2016). Teaching Writing. In W. A. Renandya, & H. P. Widodo (Eds.), English language teaching today: Building a closer link between theory and practice. Springer International.

Elbow, P. (1981). Writing with power techniques for mastering the writing process. Oxford University Press.

Feris, D. R. (2018). Writing in a second language. In Newton, J.M., Ferris, D.R., Goh, C. C. M., Grabe, W., Stoller, F. L. & Vandergriff, L. (Eds.), Teaching English to second language learners in academic context: Reading, writing, listening, and speaking (75-122). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315626949-7

Geitgey, A. (2020, September 24). Natural Language Processing is Fun! How computers understand Human Language. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@ageitgey/natural-language-processing-is-fun-9a0bff37854e

Giltrow, J., Gooding, R., Burgoyne, D., & Sawatsky, M. (2014). Academic writing: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Broadview Press.

Gottlieb, M. & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2013). Academic language: A centerpiece for academic success in English language arts. In Gottlieb, M. & Ernst-Slavit, G. (Eds.), Academic language in diverse classrooms. 1. Corwin. 1-38.

Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R.B. (1996). Theory and practice of writing. Longman.

Green, L. (2013). Why Language Learners Should Prioritize Declarative Memory. Retrieved from https://blogs.transparent.com/language-news/2013/03/25/language-learning-with-the-declarative-method/?_ga=2.166217726.1163263781.1658082551-1868130991.1658082551

Greene, S., & Lidinsky, A. (2015). From inquiry to academic writing: A practical guide. (3rd ed.) St. Martin’s.

Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. Pearson Education Limited.

Heaven, W. D. (2020). Open AI’s new language generator GPT-3 is shockingly good and completely mindless. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/20/1005454/openai-machine-learninglanguage-generator-gpt-3-nlp/

Hwang, G. J., Xie, H., Wah, B. W., & Gasevic, D. (2020). Vision, challenges, roles and research issues of Artificial Intelligence in Education. Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence. 1, 100 - 110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2020.100001

Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667251

Johnson, A. (2016). Academic writing: Process and product. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Kemmis, S & R. Mc Taggart. (ed.) 1988. The Action Research Planner. In Nunan, D. 2001 (ed.). Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge University Press.

Kilic, M. (2019). Vocabulary Knowledge as a Predictor of Performance in Writing and Speaking: A Case of Turkish EFL Learners. PASAA. 57(January – June 2019). 133-164

Kornfeld, L., & Roy, D. (2021). Educational implications of AI writing tools for academic writing. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52 (1), 248–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12973. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12973

Krajcik, Z., & Kim, K. (2020). To what extent do AI writing tools improve writing quality? A case study of master’s level students. Educational Sciences, 10 (11), 3-21.

Kroll, B. (ed.). (1990). Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524551

Lewin, K cited in Burns, R.B. 2000. Action Research. In Various Author (eds.), OTED 1083 & OTED 1085 Qualitative Research Methods Readings. Pearson Education Australia.

Louwerse, M. & A. Graesser (2005). Coherence in discourse. In Strazny, P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Fitzroy Dearborn. 216–218

Moore, J. L., Rosinski, P., Peeples, T., Pigg, S., Rife, M. C., Brunk-Chavez, B., Lackey, D., Kesler Rumsey, S., Tasaka, R., Curran, P., & Grabill, J. T. (2016). Revisualizing composition: How first-year writers use composing technologies. Computers and Composition. 39. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2015.11.001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2015.11.001

Mullammaa, K. (2010). ICT in Language Learning: Benefits and Methodological Implications. International Education Studies, 3(1), 38-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v3n1p38

Nguyen, T. C. (2024). University Teachers’ Perceptions of Using ChatGPT in Language Teaching and Assessment. Proceedings of the AsiaCALL International Conference, 4, 116-128. ISSN: 2833-6836; ISBN: 979-8-9870112-4-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.2349 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.2349

Nunan, D. (2001). Research Methods in Language Learning. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. Mc Graw Hill. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667336

Osmond, A. (2016). Academic writing and grammar for students (2nd ed.). Sage.

Pentimonti, J., O'Connell, A., Justice, L. & Cain, K. (2015). The dimensionality of language ability in young children. Child Development. 86 (6), 1948-1965. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12450

Phan, T. N. L. (2023). Students' Perceptions of the AI Technology Application in English Writing Classes. Proceedings of the AsiaCALL International Conference, 4, 45-62. ISSN:2833-6836, ISBN: 979-8-9870112-4-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.2344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.2344

Punch, K. F. (2006). Developing Effective Research Proposals (2nd ed.). SAGE

Scholes, R. & Nancy, R. C. (1985). The Practice of Writing. ST Martin Press

Singh, A.A. & Lukkarila, L. (2017). Successful Academic Writing: A Complete Guide for Social and Behavioral Scientists. The Guilford Press.

Starkey, D. (2015). Academic writing now: A brief guide for busy students. Broadview Press.

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. The University of Michigan Press.

Thet, H., & Htay, H. (2021). The Effectiveness of AI writing tools on developing EFL university students’ academic writing skills. Journal of NELTA, 26 (1), 53–67. https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v26i1.37162.

Tomblin, J. B. & Zhang, X. (2006). The dimensionality of language ability in school-age children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 49, 1193-1208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2006/086)

White, R. & Arndt, V. (1991). Process writing. Longman.

Yagiz, O., Yigiter, K. & Genc, G. (2009). Academic writing in English: Approaches, processes and challenges in higher education. IBU Repository, accessed September 18, 2023, Retrived from https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/3381.

Downloads

Published

2024-02-26

How to Cite

Tran, T. T. H. (2024). AI Tools in Teaching and Learning English Academic Writing Skills. Proceedings of the AsiaCALL International Conference, 4, 170–187. https://doi.org/10.54855/paic.23413

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)