Abstract:
The omnipresence of educational technologies has become an undeniable
reality in the post-COVID era. Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT)
technology in formal and informal teaching and learning contexts has
resulted in a pervasive and often controversial presence in the contemporary
education landscape, driven largely by the rapid popularization of OpenAI,
specifically ChatGPT. This phenomenological study intends to capture and
reflect on the lived experiences and emotional realities of low-proficient adult
ESL learners when communicating in the second language, i.e., English, as it
compares their experiences during face-to-face spoken interactions and those
of ChatGPT as a communicative partner. Through purposive sampling, 84
visual arts undergraduates were selected for the study. Using the multimodal
approach, the arts-based visual data were gathered from students depicting
their experiences during conversations with English speakers and ones where
they speak directly to ChatGPT’s AI assistant. The narrative exploration was
done by collecting data via group discussions, whereby participants reflected
on and articulated their feelings during both human and AI-mediated
communication. In addition, visual data were gathered from the sample,
whereby they shared drawings of their visualization of the experiences during
face-to-face vs AI-assisted spoken communication. Major study findings
uncover the stark contrast between the participants’ experiences with the two
modes of communication with their artwork and verbal exchanges reflecting
powerful and recurring themes of the fear and anxiety present during face-to
face conversations indicating such instances as high-stakes contexts with intense
pressure due to the power dynamics placing the L2 learner in a vulnerable
and disadvantaged position. However, the AI-mediated interactions appear
to create different emotional and learning spaces for the students, which are
in stark contrast to the anxiety-ridden imagery associated with their face-to
face spoken interactions. Given the obvious reticence to English speaking
among L2 learners, it is a timely requirement to engage in further research
focusing on AI-assisted language support and its transformational potential.
