AI Chatbot as a Companion in Writing Travel Notes

This article explores the teaching potential of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the writing skills of Russian heritage language (HL) speakers and advanced Russian as a foreign language (L2) learners. It is based on a learning scenario that was developed for university Russian classes and implemented in 2024 in an upper-intermediate course with a heterogeneous group (B2-level HL and L2 learners) at a German university. We focused on improving writing competency and fostering awareness in text work using a genre-based approach, working in five steps of a genre cycle in the travel note genre. Students engaged with a customized chatbot as an interactive interlocutor and writing assistant, which was built on the ChatGPT model by OpenAI specifically to support Russian language learners in crafting travel notes. We explore the potential benefits of AI in genre-based writing instruction. Our observations suggest that the generative capabilities of AI chatbots, when strategically integrated into language instruction, stimulate better understanding of genre specifics and the critical perception of text, as well as contribute to the development of L2 reading and writing skills. Furthermore, AI chatbots prove to be effective instruments for differentiated instruction in heterogeneous groups of language learners, allowing students to work at their own pace and reflect on their language use and writing strategies.