Academic communication with AI-powered language tools in higher education: From a post-humanist perspective
Journal article, 2024

AI-powered language tools (AILTs) are commonly used by university students, yet there is a limited understanding of how students utilise and perceive these tools in everyday academic communication practice. Employing a post-humanist lens and based on over 1700 open-ended comments from a nationwide student survey, this qualitative studyexamined students' lived AILT experiences to explicate the impact of AILTs on academic communication in higher education learning and assessment. Thematic analysis of the data shows that students' academic writing is realised by assemblages of distributed spatial and personal linguistic repertoires, underscoring AILT's role in enhancing students' communicative performance and personal language development. AILTs are also conducive to transforming the academic writing process into an additional learning space. Students have developed a new identity as spatially advised learners, enabling them to assert their agency in terms of language development and subject-content knowledge while also holding critical perspectives on the limitations of AI. Furthermore, the findings point to divergent and eclectic student viewpoints on the ethical concerns of AILTs in assessment in the absence of university instructions. The study discusses implications for university policymaking and pedagogy in developing teaching and assessment methods that match students' stances and needs in AI-mediated academic communication.

post-humanism

chatbots

artificial intelligence

higher education

academic communication

AI-powered language tools

Author

Wanyu Ou

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Language and Communication

Christian Stöhr

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Engineering Education Research

Hans Malmström

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Language and Communication

System

0346-251X (ISSN)

Vol. 121 1-14

ChatGPT and other AI for learning purposes

Chalmers, 2023-03-01 -- 2023-10-31.

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Subject Categories

Pedagogy

Learning and teaching

Pedagogical work

DOI

10.1016/j.system.2024.103225

More information

Latest update

6/25/2024