The Future of Education

This study explored how ChatGPT mediated the development of English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ speaking and writing skills through Interactive fiction (IF) tasks, and how the interaction between learners and ChatGPT with IF tasks changed over time. Sociocultural theory (SCT) framed the analysis and interpretation in this study [1], [2]. The research examined three EFL learners (two aged 20 and one aged 14) who completed IF-designed tasks with ChatGPT. The study lasted four weeks and was conducted within a one-on-one private tutoring context. Data collection tools were ChatGPT logs, semi-structured interview questions, class audio recordings, and teacher notes. The data were analyzed inductively through the lens of the SCT theoretical concepts. The study revealed that initial interactional patterns were not aligned with SCT principles. After several iterations, adjusted prompts gradually created learning experiences approximating those considered optimal within SCT. IF tasks also mediated the learning, creating an immersive context for practicing the language. Therefore, the IF tasks with ChatGPT and SCT lens can support the development of EFL learners’ speaking and writing skills, fostering engagement, self-regulation, and reflection, revealing that ChatGPT can act as a dialogic partner and a mediator within students’ Zone of proximal development (ZPD) [1], when the prompt is well-designed. The study also discusses practical pedagogical and methodological implications.