A Comparative Study on English Writing Feedback from ChatGPT, Chinese English Teacher, and Native English Teacher

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of English writing feedback from ChatGPT, a Chinese English teacher, and a native English teacher in terms of feedback amount, feedback focus, and feedback types. This paper aims to investigate ChatGPT’s potential to complement human teachers from different backgrounds. Twenty two argumentative essays written by Chinese college students were collected and the feedback from the three feedback sources were analyzed across seven dimensions. The results indicate that the native English teacher provided a larger amount of feedback than either ChatGPT or the Chinese English teacher. The three feedback sources (raters) exhibited distinct feedback focuses: ChatGPT prioritizes content relevance, the Chinese English teacher emphasized grammar, and the native English teacher focused on coherence & cohesion. Additionally, ChatGPT and human teachers displayed tendencies towards using different feedback types when evaluating the students’ writing compositions. Based on the research findings, the paper suggests a collaborative approach that integrates ChatGPT and human teachers for more effective student writing feedback. (Hoseo University)