From Clueless to Confident: How ChatGPT Transforms Academic Writing in Chinese as a Second Language

ABSTRACT Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has demonstrated its potential to enhance the quality of second‐language (L2) academic writing. This study used a qualitative approach comprising analysis of ChatGPT usage‐history screenshots, written assignments, and semi‐structured interview data on students’ use of GenAI in their L2 Chinese academic writing, as well as how their perceptions of learning, academic writing, and GenAI adoption changed after using it. The participants’ usage of ChatGPT reflected three distinct phases of self‐regulated learning, and this formed the basis of our novel analytical framework for such usage. The application of this framework revealed that students’ attitudes toward GenAI use transitioned from transactional to relational and from tool‐oriented to learning‐oriented, and highlights ChatGPT's ability to foster dynamic interactive learning experiences that go beyond mere error correction to facilitate profound learning outcomes. This study contributes to a scholarly understanding of GenAI‐assisted L2 academic writing by revealing how L2 Chinese learners used ChatGPT in their academic writing processes and providing insights into its affordances and limitations. It also offers insights for educators and curriculum designers hoping to leverage GenAI tools to improve learners’ writing skills, while its analysis of students’ perceptions and attitudes toward using GenAI for writing should be of value for anyone seeking to influence such tools’ future acceptance and adoption.