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Description
In recent years, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) seems to be a powerful tool in education, offering unprecedented support to students in their language learning journey, including writing. This paper aims at exploring students’ experiences with Generative AI regarding their motivation, confidence, and attitudes in English writing. With a mixed methods approach, data were gathered from 162 English-majors through a questionnaire, followed by in-depth interviews with 11 selected individuals at a university in Ho Chi Minh City. The findings reveal that GenAI tools positively influence students’ motivation and willingness to complete English writing tasks. Many students confirmed that they feel more confident and less anxious thanks to GenAI’s support. However, most students held the view that the use of these tools does not necessarily lead to significant improvement in their writing skill development or deeper engagement with the writing process. The result from the interviews also suggests that those who have great initiative in their learning by actively revising their work, seeking explanations or requesting more examples, find GenAI tools very effective in enhancing their English writing skills. The paper recommends that while educators should embed GenAI tools in their writing teaching, students should actively learn from AI outputs rather than passively relying on them.
Keywords: Gen AI, motivation, confidence, attitudes, English writing
