Abstract

The abilities of the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based service, ChatGPT, have been attracting a continuously expanding interest since its release. Researchers and educators are keen to understand ChatGPT’s implications in language education and identify its benefits and drawbacks. Despite its strengths and advanced multilingual capabilities, ChatGPT has several limitations such as its poor performance in non-Roman script languages, particularly Arabic. In addition, a gap in the literature has been identified concerning the voice and position of native-Arabic speaking students regarding the use of ChatGPT in English learning. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the perceptions of this cohort of students towards ChatGPT as a learning assistant and analyse their beliefs regarding the advantages and disadvantages of ChatGPT. A 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire was utilised to collect primary quantitative and qualitative data from 30 English students whose first language is Arabic and have diverse levels of English proficiency. The research was conducted in three different academic institutions in the UK. The findings reveal that most of this student group perceive ChatGPT positively in terms of its use as an effective tool to scaffold and enhance their English learning. However, there are some concerns among these students regarding ethical use, performance in Arabic language and information accuracy. These issues should be addressed by the technology developers, policymakers, teachers and researchers, who could cooperate to determine how ChatGPT can be utilised in the safest and most effective way.