China EFL Postgraduate Students’ Perception of AI Chatbots in Preparing for an Oral English Presentation: The “Perfectly Imperfect” Assistant?

Abstract

While Generative AI chatbots hold the potential to enhance EFL students’ language learning opportunities, there is a need for more empirical studies on the actual application of such AI tools in students’ daily learning practice. This research studied a group of EFL postgraduate students on their use of GAI chatbots when they prepared for their oral English presentation. Qualitative analysis of the interview data suggested AI played different roles at different stages of their learning, mainly as a linguistic assistant and a brainstorm facilitator. Besides, students held conflicting views on the effects of AI in improving their English proficiency. In addition, the effectiveness of student-AI interactions was perceived to be influenced by students’ background knowledge of the topic (which was crucial for generating effective prompts), the timing when AI was introduced, and a trade-off between utility and intentionality. Based on the current findings, pedagogical implications have been provided concerning pedagogical design, the mediating role of teachers, student training and teachers’ professional development.