Abstract

This paper examines ChatGPT's use of evaluative language and engagement strategies while addressing information-seeking queries. It assesses the chatbot's role as a virtual teaching assistant (VTA) across various educational settings. By employing Appraisal theory, the analysis contrasts responses generated by ChatGPT and those added by humans, focusing on the interactants’ attitude, deployment of interpersonal metaphors and evaluations of entities, revealing their views on Australian cultural practice. Two datasets were analysed: the first sample (15,909 words) was retrieved from the subreddit r/AskAnAustralian and the second (10,696 words) was obtained by prompting ChatGPT with the same questions. The findings show that, while human experts mainly opt for subjective explicit formulations to express personal viewpoints, the chatbot's preference goes out to incongruent ‘it is’-constructions to share pre-programmed perspectives, which may reflect ideological bias. Even though ChatGPT displays promising socio-communicative capabilities (SCs), its lack of contextual awareness, required to function cross-culturally as a VTA, may lead to considerable ethical issues. The study's novel contribution lies in the in-depth investigation of how the chatbot's SCs and lexicogrammatical selections may impact its role as a VTA, highlighting the need to develop students’ critical digital literacy skills while using AI learning tools.

Journal
Computers and Composition
Published
2024-09-01
DOI
10.1016/j.compcom.2024.102871
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 65 works outside this index ↓
  1. Revolutionizing education with AI: Exploring the transformative potential of ChatGPT
    Contemporary Educational Technology  
  2. Impact of ChatGPT on learning motivation
    Journal of English Studies in Arabia Felix  
  3. AI and ChatGPT in language teaching: Enhancing EFL classroom support and transforming ass…
    International Journal of Higher Education Pedagogies  
  4. Using ChatGPT for second language writing: Pitfalls and potentials
    Assessing Writing  
  5. Dimensions of evaluation: Cognitive and linguistic perspectives
    Pragmatics & Cognition  
  6. A computer wrote this paper: What ChatGPT means for education, research, and writing
    SSRN  
  7. Affordance analysis – matching learning tasks with learning technologies
    Educational Media International  
  8. Technology-mediated learning theory
    British Journal of Educational Technology  
  9. Semantics derived automatically from language corpora contain human-like biases
    Science  
  10. Towards intelligent-TPACK: An empirical study on teachers’ professional knowledge to ethi…
    Computers in Human Behavior  
  11. A comprehensive AI policy education framework for university teaching and learning
    Int J Educ Technol High Educ  
  12. Students’ voices on generative AI: Perceptions, benefits, and challenges in higher education
    International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education  
  13. This new conversational AI model can be your friend, philosopher, and guide … and even yo…
    Pattern  
  14. Artificial intelligence (AI) student assistants in the classroom: Designing chatbots to s…
    Information Systems Frontiers  
  15. Assessment of the capacity of ChatGPT as a self-learning tool in medical pharmacology: A …
    BMC Med Educ  
  16. Indigenous spirit and ghost folklore of “settled” Australia
    Folklore  
  17. Examining science education in ChatGPT: An exploratory study of generative artificial int…
    Journal of Science Education and Technology  
  18. EduChat: An AI-based chatbot for university-related information using a hybrid approach
    Applied Sciences  
  19. The role of ChatGPT, generative language models, and artificial intelligence in medical e…
    JMIR Medical Education  
  20. Analysing the role of ChatGPT in improving student productivity in higher education
    Journal on Education  
  21. Bias in computer systems
    ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS)  
  22. ChatGPT: Roles and boundaries of the new artificial intelligence tool in medical educatio…
    Annals of Medicine & Surgery  
  23. Geerling, W., Mateer, G.D., Wooten, J., & Damodaran, N. (2023). Is ChatGPT smarter than a student in principl…
  24. Attitude of college students towards ethical issues of artificial intelligence in an inte…
    AI & Soc  
  25. Hargreaves, S. (2023). Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup: ChatGPT & law school assessm…
  26. Attention is not all you need: the complicated case of ethically using large language mod…
    EBioMedicine  
  27. Learning in the wild: Coding for learning and practice on Reddit
    Learning, Media and Technology  
  28. ChatGPT and medical education: A double-edged sword
    Journal of Pedagogy and Education Science  
  29. The impact of ChatGPT on foreign language teaching and learning: Opportunities in educati…
    Journal of Educational Technology and Innovation  
  30. ChatGPT's advice is perceived as better than that of professional advice columnists
    Frontiers in Psychology  
  31. Chatbots for language learning—Are they really useful? A systematic review of chatbot-sup…
    Journal of Computer Assisted Learning  
  32. Hooking the reader: A corpus study of evaluative that in abstracts
    English for Specific Purposes  
  33. Perception, performance, and detectability of conversational artificial intelligence acro…
    Scientific Reports  
  34. Game of algorithms: ChatGPT implications for the future of tourism education and research
    Journal of Tourism Futures  
  35. Unlocking the opportunities through ChatGPT tool towards ameliorating the education system
    BenchCouncil Transactions on Benchmarks Standards and Evaluations  
  36. Large language models in education: A focus on the complementary relationship between hum…
    Education and Information Technologies  
  37. ChatGPT in action: Harnessing artificial intelligence potential and addressing ethical ch…
    World Journal of Methodology  
  38. The need for health AI ethics in medical school education
    Advances in Health Sciences Education  
  39. ChatGPT—A challenging tool for the university professors in their teaching practice
    Education Sciences  
  40. ChatGPT: Jack of all trades, master of none
    Information Fusion  
  41. ChatGPT for language teaching and learning
    RELC Journal  
  42. Performance of ChatGPT on USMLE: Potential for AI-assisted medical education using large …
    PLOS Digital Health  
  43. ChatGPT for good? On opportunities and challenges of large language models for education
    Learning and Individual Differences  
  44. Generative AI and the future of education: Ragnarok or Reformation? A paradoxical perspec…
    The International Journal of Management Education  
  45. Dialogue, dialogicality and interactivity: A conceptually bewildering field?
    Language and Dialogue  
  46. ChatGPT and a new academic reality: Artificial Intelligence-written research papers and t…
    Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology  
  47. Metaphors we feel by: Stratal tension
    Journal of World Languages  
  48. Ethical use of artificial intelligence in health professions education: AMEE Guide No. 158
    Medical Teacher  
  49. The uselessness of AI ethics
    AI Ethics  
  50. Ethical principles for artificial intelligence in education
    Educ Inf Technol  
  51. Is ChatGPT a good tool for T&CM students in studying pharmacology?
    SSRN  
  52. Personalized adaptive learning: an emerging pedagogical approach enabled by a smart learn…
    Smart Learning Environments  
  53. Academic integrity considerations of AI Large Language Models in the post- pandemic era: …
    Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice  
  54. A study of dialogic expansion and contraction in spoken discourse using corpus and experi…
    Corpora  
  55. ChatGPT for education and research: Opportunities, threats, and strategies
    Applied Sciences  
  56. Can students without prior knowledge use ChatGPT to answer test questions? An empirical study
    ACM Transactions on Computing Education  
  57. Reversing the threat of artificial intelligence to opportunity: A discussion of ChatGPT i…
    Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism  
  58. Artificial cognition: How experimental psychology can help generate explainable artificia…
    Psychon Bull Rev  
  59. What if the devil is my guardian angel: ChatGPT as a case study of using chatbots in education
    Smart Learning Environments  
  60. Framework for a foreign language teaching software for children utilizing AR, voicebots a…
    The Journal of Cognitive Systems  
  61. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and shaming on TikTok: A multimodal appraisal analysis
    Multimodality & Society  
  62. Do not parade your ignorance: Negation as a power tool of toxic geek masculinity
    SN Social Sciences  
  63. Subjective and objective modality: Interpersonal and ideational functions in the English …
    Journal of Pragmatics  
  64. Evaluative semantics and ideological positioning in journalistic discourse
    Mediating ideology in text and image  
  65. Impact of ChatGPT on learners in a L2 writing practicum: An exploratory investigation
    Educ Inf Technol  
CrossRef global citation count: 20 View in citation network →