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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 25, No. 0, pp.448-471
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2025
Received 17 Feb 2025 Revised 08 Mar 2025 Accepted 17 Mar 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.25..202504.448

GPT API-based Chatbots as Adaptive and Facilitative Tutors for L2 English Process Writing

Min-Chang Sung ; Sooyeon Kang
(First author) Associate Professor, Department of English Education, Gyeongin National University of Education Sammak-ro 155, Manan-gu, Anyang-si Gyeonggi-do, 13910, Republic of Korea, Tel: +82-31-470-6335 mcsung@ginue.ac.kr
(Corresponding author) English Teacher, Sinyeon Middle School Moraenae-ro 408, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03717, Republic of Korea, Tel: +87-2-379-4317 englishsk329@naver.com


© 2025 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper explores the development and application of GPT API-based chatbots as adaptive and facilitative tutors in the context of the EFL process writing by secondary school students. In Study 1, we describe the development of four AI-powered chatbots, each customized for one of the four sequential stages of the L2 writing process, i.e., prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Through prompt fine-tuning using the GPT-4-turbo API and OpenAI Playground, the chatbots were guided to provide stage-specific feedback, prevent unquestioning reliance on AI, and promote L2 writing development. In Study 2, the chatbots were evaluated in a case study with a cohort of six ninth-graders engaged in process writing tasks with the four stage-specific chatbots. We found that the tailor-made chatbots effectively assisted the EFL learners at each stage of the writing process, fostering constructive and creative human-AI collaboration. The learners evaluated the chatbots as helpful and knowledgeable, acknowledging their positive impact on writing quality. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for the design and use of AI chatbots in L2 writing.

Keywords:

process writing, GPT-4 turbo API, prompt fine-tuning, writing tutor chatbots, middle school students

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