TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF USING CHATGPT IN WRITING INSTRUCTION

Abstract

While several studies have explored teachers’ experiences and perceptions of using ChatGPT in English as a foreign language teaching, little research has examined its role in French writing instruction. This study aims to investigate how French teachers at high schools and universities in Vietnam utilise ChatGPT for teaching essay writing, as well as its perceived benefits and challenges. Quantitative data were collected through an online 42-item questionnaire completed by 53 teachers who used ChatGPT in essay writing courses. Descriptive statistical analysis using SPSS 26 reveals that the most common applications of ChatGPT before lessons included generating outlines, creating essay samples, and finding reading materials. During lesson implementation, teachers primarily encouraged students to avoid excessive reliance on ChatGPT when writing their essays while allowing them to use it for generating outlines. In assessment, the most reported practices involved integrating writing tasks into ChatGPT prompts, correcting errors the AI failed to detect, and requiring students to revise their essays based on ChatGPT’s feedback. However, the findings indicate that ChatGPT was rarely used for generating grammar and vocabulary exercises or creating essay topics. Teachers also tended to avoid using ChatGPT for grading or requiring students to analyse ChatGPT’s feedback. Teachers recognised its benefits, such as saving time in lesson preparation, providing instant feedback, and facilitating students’ access to reading materials, but expressed concerns about risks related to academic dishonesty and the inaccuracy of ChatGPT-generated feedback. To enhance the effective use of ChatGPT in writing instruction, professional training is necessary, particularly in prompt engineering and AI-supported grammar and vocabulary instruction.