The Development of Higher Secondary School Students' English Paragraph Writing Skills through the Integration of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the development of English paragraph writing skills among higher secondary school students at a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration School after learning through the integration of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) into instruction; to analyze the development of English paragraph writing skills influenced by the use of ChatGPT — specifically examining paragraph structure, grammar usage, vocabulary, and content coherence; and to assess students' satisfaction with this AI-assisted teaching approach. The study sample comprised 40 Grade 12 students from Naluang School, Bangkok, during the 2024 academic year, selected using simple random sampling. The research instruments included two instructional plans (each lasting two hours, totaling four hours of instruction), pre- and post-tests to measure writing proficiency, and a student satisfaction questionnaire. The findings revealed that the use of ChatGPT in instruction contributed to a clear improvement in students’ English paragraph writing skills, particularly in grammatical accuracy, paragraph organization, and word choice. Post-instruction writing scores were consistently higher than pre-instruction scores, indicating noticeable progress in students’ writing abilities. Additionally, the students indicated overall agreement with the ChatGPT-integrated instructional model, particularly appreciating its role in making English writing easier and more applicable to real-life contexts. These findings highlight the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) as a supportive tool in secondary-level English writing instruction and suggest that integrating ChatGPT into teaching can be an effective approach to enhancing students' writing ability in English.