Teacher feedback and ChatGPT feedback on Chinese university EFL learners’ English essay revision: A mixed-methods study

Adopting mixed methods, the study compared teacher feedback and ChatGPT feedback on 35 Chinese university EFL learners’ essay revision, their Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and their perceived benefits and drawbacks of the feedback. Students wrote two English essays and received writing feedback from their English teacher and ChatGPT respectively. They revised one essay using teacher feedback and another using ChatGPT feedback. Upon revision, students responded to a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire regarding PU and PEOU of the two types of feedback. The results showed that students obtained significantly higher scores on the revised essays using ChatGPT feedback. However, students perceived more useful and easier to use than ChatGPT feedback in the revision process. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed that while students valued teacher feedback for its emotional support and clarity, they found ChatGPT feedback more comprehensive yet often linguistically complex and generic. Students expressed mixed feelings, acknowledging distinct strengths and limitations of each feedback type.