Students' Perceptions of ChatGPT for Pragmatic Acceptability in Academic Online Messaging
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academic onine messaging, ChatGPT, Pragmatic, Students' Perception, UTAUTAbstract
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has created new opportunities to support students in producing more appropriate academic communication, particularly in online interactions with lecturers. This study investigated English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ perception of using ChatGPT to support pragmatic acceptability in academic online messaging, focusing on tone, politeness, formality, and contextual appropriateness. The study involved 100 undergraduate students from the English Language Education Study Program at Universitas Tanjungpura who had experience using ChatGPT to compose or revise English messages intended for lecturers. A descriptive quantitative design was employed using a questionnaire developed based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including mean scores and standard deviations. The findings revealed that students generally held positive perceptions of ChatGPT in supporting pragmatic acceptability in academic online messaging. Among the UTAUT constructs, Facilitating Conditions obtained the highest mean score (M = 4.305), followed by Performance Expectancy (M = 4.128), Overall Perception (M = 4.125), Effort Expectancy (M = 4.003), and Social Influence (M = 3.610). These findings suggest that ChatGPT can serve as an accessible tool for supporting students' pragmatic awareness and digital academic communication when used critically as a complementary writing aid.
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