Abstract

This study investigated the perceived level of effectiveness of using ChatGPT on the linguistic skills and written communication skills in English of senior high school students in Carmona Cavite, Philippines. The study was anchored on the communicative competence theory. A descriptive correlational research design was employed, utilizing a survey questionnaire to gather data from 50 senior high school students. Results show that respondents have room for improvements in linguistic skills in English. Although the respondents perceive ChatGPT as highly effective as an academic support tool, this is not enough because the respondents linguistic test results suggest significant gaps in foundational linguistic skills. This could result in communication barriers, limiting ability to construct grammatically correct and varied sentence, and could lead to confusion in understanding and using language effectively in different context. In addition, while the respondents perceive themselves as having relatively strong written communication skills, the respondents’ perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT does not affect their written communication skills. A detailed action plan was articulated to improve the linguistic and written communication skills of the students. There is a clear need for targeted intervention and initiatives to improve the linguistic and written communication skills in English of the students. Educational language instructions need to be enhanced and educators should consider adapting learner-centered strategies that combine traditional methodology and ChatGPT or other technologies. This descriptive correlational study provides novel exploration of perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT and students linguistic and written communication skills in English. It is very helpful because it reveals that the perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT does not directly correlate with the linguistics or written communications skills in English.