Penny: Transition Network Analysis of Learner-Chatbot Interactions in Scaffolded EFL Writing

The rapid evolution of Large Language Models (LLMs) has made them powerful tools for enhancing student writing. This study explores the extent and limitations of LLMs in assisting secondary-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students with their writing tasks. While existing studies focus on output quality, our research examines the developmental shift in LLMs and their impact on EFL students, assessing whether smarter models act as true scaffolds or mere compensatory crutches. To achieve this, we analyse student compositions assisted by LLMs before and after ChatGPT's release, using both expert qualitative scoring and quantitative metrics (readability tests, Pearson's correlation coefficient, MTLD, and others). Our results indicate that advanced LLMs boost assessment scores and lexical diversity for lower-proficiency learners, potentially masking their true ability. Crucially, increased LLM assistance correlated negatively with human expert ratings, suggesting surface fluency without deep coherence. To transform AI-assisted practice into genuine learning, pedagogy must shift from focusing on output quality to verifying the learning process. Educators should align AI functions, specifically differentiating ideational scaffolding from textual production, within the learner's Zone of Proximal Development.

This study examines feedback in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing contexts, focusing on written corrective feedback (WCF). Large language models (LLMs) can provide WCF at scale, but aligning them with pedagogical best practices remains an ongoing challenge. WCF meeting criteria like factuality or relevance may still be unsuitable for learning contexts, highlighting the need for extrinsic evaluation based on the learner's perspective. We deployed WCF systems in a university-level EFL class with nearly 2,000 students, collecting over 20,000 drafts. We evaluated the generated WCF from two perspectives: intrinsic evaluation by experienced English teachers using a rubric, and extrinsic evaluation via student feedback and engagement metrics. Results revealed low alignment between teacher expert ratings and student feedback. These findings suggest that traditional expert evaluation alone may not fully capture WCF's usability or helpfulness from the learner's perspective, highlighting the importance of learner-centered evaluation frameworks for AI-based applications in language education.

As Generative AI (GenAI) becomes integral to education, fostering GenAI literacy is critical. However, current assessments largely rely on self-reported scales, lacking insights into how literacy manifests in actual learning processes. This study leverages Learning Analytics (LA) to bridge this gap. We collected interaction logs from 162 university students engaged in a GenAI-assisted abstract writing task. Using Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA), we modeled and compared the questioning strategies of students with varying GenAI literacy levels. Preliminary results reveal distinct interaction signatures: high-literacy students engage in iterative refinement and strategic questioning, while low-literacy students rely on direct generation commands. This work contributes to the workshop by demonstrating how process data can characterize GenAI literacy, paving the way for data-driven literacy assessment and real-time interventions.