The application of ChatGPT in students’ academic essay writing

Inspired by the digital storytelling (DST) of social media celebrities, language learners create their own DST to practise the language and engage with audience for intercultural communication. In this study, students’ DST on social media attracted over 60,000 viewers, fostering intercultural exchange. Class observations and in-depth interviews reveal that factors such as wordplay, accents, dialects, and idioms, and the use of double meanings in different contexts significantly boost students’ motivation to learn the language. Multimodality emerges as a powerful tool for language practice and intercultural engagement. Students describe this learning experience as autonomous and enriching, as it provides practical insights into everyday language use and cultivates greater cultural awareness. The findings highlight DST on social media as a promising method for language learning and intercultural communication, offering an enjoyable learning process while delivering meaningful and impactful outcomes.