Exploring English Major Students’ Perceived Influence of ChatGPT on Self-Regulated Learning in Legal English Writing

Abstract

This study investigates English major students’ perceptions of the influence of ChatGPT on the self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of ESP legal writing. The study employed a quantitative research design with the participation of 68 third-year English majors from two intact legal writing classes at Hanoi Law University. The findings reveal a high level of ChatGPT use (M=4.02) by the participants, particularly for clarifying terminology, correcting grammar and expression, or overcoming writing difficulties. ChatGPT is perceived to impact students' SRL capacity asymetrically across the planning, monitoring, and evaluation phases. Among them, planning received the highest perceived level of AI support (M=4.14), compared with monitoring (M=3.65) and evaluation (M=3.54). Specifically, the tool provides robust support for idea generation, outlining, and task planning. However, students reported relatively lower levels of critical monitoring and evaluative efforts in an AI-assisted learning environment. These findings provide empirical support for a stratified perspective of AI-mediated SRL, suggesting that ChatGPT complements rather than replaces English major students’ core self-regulatory processes. Based on these findings, several pedagogical recommendations are proposed to leverage ChatGPT use and enhance its positive effects on students’ SRL in legal writing practice.