ABSTRACT
This qualitative-phenomenological study aimed at determining the lived experiences of Junior High School teachers and learners on the use of ChatGPT for teaching and learning English. The findings revealed themes reflecting both positive and negative experiences. For teachers, positive themes included useful, convenient and time-saving app; tool for instructional support and material development; easy access to information gathering and disseminating; and importance of proper prompting and teacher judgment while poor internet connectivity emerged as a negative experience. For learners, positive themes included improvement in grammar, writing, and sentence structure; support for research and assignment; vocabulary development, translation, and understanding of difficult words; and ease, enjoyment, and stress reduction in learning English. Negative themes included limitations such as inaccuracy and overreliance on ChatGPT and cheating, unethical and irresponsible AI use were also highlighted. Based on the findings, the study proposed the AI-LITERATE Program in English language teaching and learning.
Keywords: ChatGPT, Teachers’ Experiences, Learners’ Experiences
INTRODUCTION
The integration of technology in education has transformed traditional teaching and learning process into offering new opportunities for both teachers and learners. The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) brought with it a new era of technological advancement and significant innovation to the field of education. One of the emerging AI tools is ChatGPT or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a natural language processing tool developed by OpenAI. This tool is widely recognized for its capacity to generate human-like responses, provide instant feedback, facilitate interactive learning, and engage user into meaningful conversations. One can also use this tool to ask questions, and it will provide instant responses. Within English language teaching, ChatGPT is considered an additional resource that helps learners improve vocabulary, enhance grammar and build conversational skills.
In the Philippine school context, English is considered a vital medium of instruction for classroom settings as it is the language used for most of the subjects and a second language used in speaking for communication. The effective teaching of English is often constrained by challenges such as insufficient classroom time, overcrowded classes, and diverse proficiency levels of learners. Teachers always look for a new way, explore innovative approaches to get over these obstacles, and assist students in enhancing their language proficiency. By offering personalized practice, interesting interactions and immediate feedback, ChatGPT can be integrated as an instructional tool to enhance traditional teaching methods and overcome learners’ shortcomings. Teachers may also utilize the tool as an aid for lesson delivery, provide activities, practice exercises, or supplement discussion.
This aligns with differentiated instruction which adapts teaching methods and learning environments to address students’ varying readiness, interest, and learning needs (Shareefa, 2025). By using a variety of instructional methods, teachers and learners expand well their teaching and learning styles as well as their skills.
Although ChatGPT holds promise for education, concerns remain regarding its effectiveness and accessibility with instructional objects. Teachers and students may encounter different experiences while some may view it as helpful in improving engagement and understanding, others might struggle with issues such as dependence on technology, reliability of responses, or limited digital skills. Examining these experiences is crucial to determining how ChatGPT can be effectively incorporated into English language teaching for Junior High School learners.
The researcher chose this study because ChatGPT is now commonly used by teachers and learners in learning English, although its actual effects in the classroom are not clearly understood. The researcher has also observed that technology is becoming an important part of how learners learn and how teachers deliver lessons. With the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence tools such as ChatGPT in writing, grammar checking, idea generation, and language practice, it is important to understand the real experiences of teachers and learners when using this tool in English instruction. This study aimed at exploring the experiences of both teachers and learners, including the benefits and challenges they encounter, in order to provide insights that can help schools and educators integrate AI responsibly. The findings of this research may serve as bases for developing a program recommendation that can improve teaching strategies and support the development of students’ language skills in todays’ technology-driven learning environment, while promoting the responsible and effective use of AI tools such as ChatGPT in teaching English.
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