IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature
Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026): IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Lite

The Impact of ChatGPT as a Guided Thinking Partner on Junior Secondary Students’ Recount Text Writing Skill

Sukmawati Lahabi (English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo)
Karmila Machmud (English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo)
Titien Fatmawaty Mohammad (English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo)



Article Info

Publish Date
19 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of ChatGPT as a guided thinking partner on ninth-grade students’ recount text writing skill at SMP Negeri 2 Suwawa. Although previous studies have shown that ChatGPT can support writing instruction, limited classroom-based quantitative evidence has examined its supervised use as a thinking partner rather than as an automatic text generator in junior secondary EFL recount writing. Grounded in sociocultural scaffolding theory, this study positioned ChatGPT as guided cognitive and linguistic support during idea generation, outlining, drafting, revising, and editing. A quantitative pre-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design was employed with 30 students selected through purposive sampling. Students’ recount texts were assessed using an analytic rubric covering structure, grammar accuracy, vocabulary use, and coherence. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, and effect size calculation in IBM SPSS Statistics 27. The findings showed that the mean score increased from 72.33 in the pre-test to 85.83 in the post-test, with improvements across all writing indicators, especially coherence and text structure. The Wilcoxon test indicated a significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores (Z = -4.102, p < .001), with a large effect size (r = .75). The study concludes that ChatGPT can support recount text writing when it is used ethically, reflectively, and under teacher supervision as pedagogical scaffolding rather than as a substitute for students’ own writing process.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ideas

Publisher

Subject

Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

IDEAS Journal is published twice a year in the months of June and December (P-ISSN 2338-4778 and E-ISSN 2548-4192); it presents articles on English language teaching and learning, linguistics, and literature. The contents include analyses, studies and application of theories, research report, ...