Thai high school students' perception toward the use of ChatGPT in EFL classes

This study explored high school students' perceptions regarding the use of ChatGPT in Thai EFL classes, examining both its benefits and challenges. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research combined quantitative data from an online questionnaire with 23 closed-ended, five-point Likert scale statements, and qualitative insights from a focus-group interviews with open-ended questions. Content validity was ensured through the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) method, validated by three experts. A convenience sample of 120 Thai high school students participated, with four students selected for the focus-group interviews. The findings indicated that majority of participants were Grade 12 students from government schools in Bangkok, with an almost equal distribution of males and females. The largest respondent group comprised students in Science - Mathematics programs with GPAs between 3.01 and 4.00 in English subjects. Nearly two-thirds had used ChatGPT in English classes for less than a year, primarily in writing and translation courses. Overall, students had a high general perception of ChatGPT's use in learning (mean score: 3.76). Specifically, perceptions of its benefits in learning English were high (mean score: 3.84), while perceptions of its challenges were moderate (mean score: 3.08). Focus-group interviews highlighted ChatGPT's effectiveness in translation, sentence generation, essay writing, and grammar checking. However, challenges included inaccuracies in factual results and difficulties in command input, leading to potential misunderstandings. Some participants also noted that ChatGPT underperformed compared to specialized tools for certain functions.