Exploring the Teacher’s Perceptions on the Use of ChatGPT for Teaching English Writing Skills to Collegiate-Level Students in Pakistan

Abstract

Instructional writing has long been at the forefront of research, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. Understanding teachers’ perceptions of ChatGPT's use for teaching English writing skills has become increasingly significant. The present study explores Pakistani English teachers’ perceptions of using ChatGPT to teach writing skills to college-level students. Using a qualitative research design, the study involved 15 faculty members from a government college in Pakistan who participated in semi-structured interviews. The study found that teachers perceived ChatGPT as a valuable tool for developing vocabulary, syntactic structure, paragraph writing, and emotional intelligence. The results also showed a potential increase in the students’ involvement while reducing writing anxiety. However, concerns were rising about the overreliance on AI tools, less academic creativity, diminished critical thinking, and a lack of AI-assisted writing classrooms. Further, the findings suggest a balanced approach towards implementing ChatGPT favors creative writing skills, organization, and accuracy. This study recommends practical strategies and provides clear instructions for using AI tools. Moreover, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) highlights perceived usefulness, influence, and challenges as key determinants of TAM acceptance. The participants emphasized the need to prompt teachers’ training programs, provide scaffolding, and integrate ChatGPT and other AI tools for effective writing instruction, focusing on structured guidelines to minimize risks and maximize outcomes. This research contributes to contemporary debates on the use of AI tools to support digital transformation in education and provides an actionable plan for integrating AI tools into the English writing classroom.