Exploring the Relationship between ChatGPT Use and University Students’ Syntactic Argumentation

Abstract

This study preliminarily explores the relationship between the use of ChatGPT as an AI tool and Moroccan university students’ linguistic argumentation, taking syntax as a case study. This research project aims to better understand how tools like ChatGPT may influence students’ reasoning and argumentative skills in the field of syntax. A quantitative research design was adopted, using questionnaires distributed to 91 Moroccan EFL students from various educational levels (B.A., Master’s, and doctoral studies). Our main finding is that the majority of students used ChatGPT to solve issues related to theoretical linguistics. Nevertheless, the majority either stayed neutral or had negative attitudes towards ChatGPT improving their ability to critically analyze syntactic data and are confident to analyze data without ChatGPT. The implication behind this research is the cautious attitude towards using ChatGPT: It is used as a means but never a replacement for the traditional learning process.