Innovation in Language Learning

Online activities, or e-tivities, are means of synchronous or asynchronous instruction with the use of various web-based tools and online services, including conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) tools such as GPT-4 (provided by OpenAI) and Bing Chat (provided by Microsoft). E-tivities can be conducted at different levels of education and adapted for teaching various subjects, including English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). In the EFL/ESP setting, e-tivities can supplement or replace face-to-face instruction and can be used for various objectives, including the development of students’ language competence (e.g. vocabulary and grammar knowledge and usage), as well as conceptual knowledge and communication skills. E-tivities can also contribute to the enhancement of learning experiences of students in EFL/ESP instruction and to their acquisition of learning-to-learn skills. The use of CAI tools is gaining much attention in the context of EFL/ESP instruction (for instance, see: [1], [2]) and recommendations for educators can be found online regarding various means of using CAI tools in language teaching. In our paper we present the results of investigation into the use of the CAI tool Bing Chat regarding its pedagogical potential for designing e-tivities in ESP instruction. At the end of the summer semester of the 2022/2023 academic year students in two ESP courses were engaged in e-tivities with the use of Bing Chat that were aimed at exploring different aspects of Business English grammar and vocabulary. After the students performed e-tivities with Bing Chat a survey was used to collect data on (a) their experiences with the e-tivities and (b) evaluation of selected technological features of Bing Chat. As an easily accessible CAI, or chatbot, that is integrated with an existing search engine, in our study Bing Chat was found to be a convenient and reliable tool for the design and implementation of instructional activities in ESP courses. Also, the opinion of the authors of this paper is that, for interaction with students in higher education settings, Bing Chat displayed an adequate level of linguistic competence in verbal interaction using the English language, as well as satisfactory general knowledge of the English language system.