Exploring EFL Prompting Strategies of ESL Hospitality Students in Essay Writing with ChatGPT
Keywords:
ChatGPT, Prompting, Hospitality Students, WritingAbstract
Generative AI has been widely used in EFL writing classes, which raises interests in the prompts use employed by the students. This study attempts to answer two research questions: (1) What types of prompts do students use when interacting with ChatGPT to revise their essays? (2) To what extent do these prompts reflect high-order and low-order writing concerns? A total of 143 prompts were collected from 33 students during the revision phase of a writing assignment. These prompts were analyzed through qualitative content analysis to identify patterns in prompting behavior. Findings show that students predominantly used ChatGPT to address higher-order concerns, such as content development, academic tone, and organization, rather than surface-level issues like grammar correction. This suggests that students approached ChatGPT as a tool to improve the quality and coherence of their writing, not merely for mechanical edits. Prompting behaviors varied among individuals, with some students submitting multiple detailed prompts while others engaged minimally. The average number of prompts per student was similar between male and female students, despite considerable individual variation. These findings challenge the assumption that students rely on generative AI only for surface-level fixes. With proper instruction and support, students can engage with AI in thoughtful, ethical, and academically meaningful ways. The study highlights the need to incorporate AI literacy into academic writing instruction to help students develop effective and responsible prompting strategies.
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