ESL tertiary learners’ engagement in ChatGPT-assisted second language writing

This study used a within-groups design to investigate how ChatGPT-assisted revision affected tertiary ESL learners’ writing quality and their engagement. Data from written texts, chat logs, stimulated recalls, and interviews revealed that using ChatGPT significantly improved learners’ writing quality, particularly in lexical complexity, grammatical accuracy, cohesion, and style. Learners also exhibited diverse engagement profiles and variation in engagement levels, marked by different approaches to the use of ChatGPT (i.e. behavioural engagement), various cognitive processes (i.e. cognitive engagement), and mixed emotional responses (i.e. emotional engagement), which arguably contributes to the imp­rovement of their text quality. These findings offer implications for integrating ChatGPT into L2 writing instruction.