Learner Mediation of AI-Generated Language: A Case Study of Beginner CFL Learners Using ChatGPT for Role-Play Script Construction

The increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT has created new opportunities for language learning. However, existing research has largely focused on learning outcomes and learner perceptions, with less attention given to how learners interact with and mediate AI-generated language during task completion. This study investigates learner–AI interaction among beginner Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners during role-play script construction. Adopting a qualitative case study design, the study involved 28 third-level CFL learners at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Data were collected from ChatGPT prompt logs, AI-generated role-play scripts, learner revision tables, and reflective essays. The analysis focused on three interrelated aspects of learner–AI interaction: prompting practices, learner mediation of AI-generated language, and learners’ perceptions of AI-assisted learning. The findings indicate that learners actively engaged with ChatGPT rather than passively accepting AI-generated outputs. Learners refined prompts, verified AI-generated language using multiple sources, and frequently modified, simplified, localized, and adapted AI-generated expressions according to their linguistic knowledge, classroom learning experiences, and communicative needs. The findings further reveal the continuing influence of textbook authority and the importance of performability in learners’ evaluative decisions. In addition, learners frequently localized AI-generated language to better reflect Malaysian sociocultural contexts. Although participants generally perceived ChatGPT as a useful learning resource, they did not regard it as a replacement for teachers or textbooks. Drawing on constructivist perspectives and feedback literacy, the study argues that learner–AI interaction is best understood as a process of mediation in which learners actively evaluate, negotiate, and adapt AI-generated language. The study contributes to the growing literature on AI-assisted language learning by highlighting the role of learner agency and evaluative judgement in beginner CFL contexts.

ChatGPT, Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL), Feedback Literacy, Learner Mediation, Prompting

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