Abstract
Taiwan has implemented the English General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), a high-stake college entrance exam, to determine students’ learning outcomes. The GSAT consists of a reading section and a writing section which requires students to write a short essay in English based on a given topic. Since the reading section occupies a large portion of the exam, high school English teachers usually put more focus on the instruction of grammar, vocabulary, and reading skills, and less focus on the instruction and practice of English essays. Moreover, the heavy workload in teaching writing, limited class time, and large class size may decrease the effectiveness of teaching. To alleviate the problem, we must consider tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance writing proficiencies among learners. This study, therefore, analyzes the role and efficacy of AI, Google Gemini, in assisting Taiwanese students’ process of writing an English essay that is required in GSAT. A mixed-methods design was adopted. The pretest-posttest experiment looked into English essays’ improvement after using Gemini, and the interview provided participants’ perceptions in terms of Gemini’s strengths and drawbacks. Posttest results yielded significant improvements in essay structure and grammar, whereas minimal change was found in content. As for the interview data, Gemini’s ability to generate ideas and improve essay organization was acknowledged. However, participants express frustration with the tool’s instability, time-consuming interactions, and overwhelming information, leading to mixed perceptions about its overall utility.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
AI, Gemini, Writing
