This presentation paper reported the findings from interviews and assignments from 4 students who extensively used Gen AI in a 5.5-month ESP program. One of these students was followed up with another interview 6 months later, after getting a job and continuing to use Gen AI over 20 hours a week.

1. From class to
career:
Case studies on Gen
AI as a career
skill
Nigel P. Daly
MCU, May 11, 2024

2. Plan
• AI as career skill – some research support
• 5-month case studies – differing AI-use patterns and their
impacts on language learning
• 12-month case study: AI-in-class to AI-on-the-job
• Conclusions

3. GenAI as career skill –
Research support

4. GenAI as career skill – lit
review
ChatGPT boost productivity and work quality for white-collar workers:
Study 1: Science (Noy & Zhang, 2023) study: 444 participants in 2 groups.
Task: writing and editing tasks in marketing, grant writing, data analysis, and human resources
ChatGPT vs non-ChatGPT groups:
1. A. ChatGPT group completing tasks 37% faster - initial quality the same for both groups
B. repeated task iterations, the ChatGPT group's work quality improved significantly faster
2. ChatGPT group completed more work per unit time (production volume+) while maintaining a
consistent quality of work; and
3. Iterations to improve the quality of work: ChatGPT group scored higher on quality from the
beginning and continued to improve.
Source: Noy, S. and Zhang, W. (2023). Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative artificial intelligence. Science, 381(6654), 187-192.

5. GenAI as career skill – lit
review
ChatGPT boost productivity and work quality for white-collar workers:
Study 2: Nature (Lenharo, 2023): 7% of all McKinsey consultants (N=758)
ChatGPT for both weaker & stronger writers: productivity+, writing quality+ ONLY for weaker
writers.
• bottom-half skilled participants: 43% increase in performance
• top-half skilled staff: 17% quality increases
Study 3: Dell’Acqua et al., 2023 (echoed Noy and Zhang’s (2023) study)
Staff using ChatGPT were more productive
• 12.2% more tasks
• 25.1% more quickly.
Sources: Lenharo, M. (2023, July 13). ChatGPT gives an extra productivity boost to weaker writers. Nature. // Dell’Acqua, F., McFowland, E., Mollick, E. R., Lifshitz-Assaf, H.,
Kellogg, K., Rajendran, S., Krayer, L., Candelon, F., & Lakhani, K. R. (2023, September). Navigating the jagged technological frontier: Field experimental evidence of the effects of
AI on knowledge worker productivity and quality. (Working Paper No. 24-013). SSRN.

6. GenAI skills will
help my students be
more competitive in
their careers

7. Educational setting:
International Trade Institute
(TAITRA training center)
Program: intensive 5.5 months
Courses: Business knowledge and communication
skills
• Business English, sales presentations,
negotiations, meetings, marketing
communications
• Writing: email & research reports
• job application writing and interview skills
Students: post-graduates, looking to
• Apply for first jobs,
• Improve career opportunities
• Change careers
• Study abroad at English universities

8. AI might solve some Teaching
problems
Too much content …
Give models, students copy …
BUT
Don’t really learn/remember
Forget quickly
Create poor quality work

9. AI Teaching solution?
Hope and goal for
Students
• Students become familiar
with GenAI,
• get good at using it, and
• take it away with them after
leaving ITI
But …. Need AI policy …

10. “Human-first” workflow:
LinkedIn assignment
“Human-first” type workflows
Some assignments required demonstrating this

11. Case studies –
investigating AI use in ESP
courses
Subjects: 4 students, different ability ranges
Data collection:
assignments,
AI use test
semi-structured interviews after 5 months
Interview themes:
• impressions of AI tools,
• benefits,
• challenges,
• impact on English learning

12. 3 case studies: 3 AI user
types
Client
Student
Apprentice

13. Case 1: Morris
42 yrs, TOEIC 550, 10+ yrs journalist, shy,
introspective
AI use? – CLIENT:TRANSLATOR
• “[The most useful function of genAI for me] is
translate. It very helped me in class … if I do your
Industrial report, the writing is a big problem for me
so it can help me write … and it can save my time to
research the information … if I want to translate, I will
use the ChatGPT … if I want to some information
with the references, I will use the Bing Chat … it's
amazing … I think it's amazing!”

14. Case 1: Morris (42 yrs, TOEIC 550, 10+ yrs
journalist, shy, introspective)
AI use improve English? No.
• No noticeable improvement. He noticed recurring
words but made no effort to record or remember
them.
Struggles
• Distinguish and use tone in English
• Prompt making: “It’s challenging for me asking
questions … because I'm not creative. … I don't
have more ideas how to ask a question.”
• Frustrated by lack of sources from AI: “I always
want to know where [it] got the information, … if I
had more asking where [it] get the information, it will
help me a little, but sometimes it created some
information. … it's fake, yeah so sometimes you
knew it was fake.”

15. Case 2: Gavin
32 yrs, TOEIC 650, English major, cook in Japan,
sociable
AI use? – STUDENT: TUTOR
• “I like to think my own way and type my own
thing and write my own paragraph. And then I
will ask ChatGPT … to correct the grammar
or this make it smoother … or to make it like
more professional English writing”.

16. Case 2: Gavin (32 yrs, TOEIC 650, English
major, cook in Japan, sociable)
AI use improve English? Yes.
• “I did uh [learn] a lot and I always like write [new
language] in the book [his personal notebook], but now
I don't remember it. … [but] yes, [my English] actually
improved, … like uh when … your assignment or
some someone else say … I will say, oh I saw that
before [from genAI] and this means that. Yeah, I think
that's helped me a lot.”
Struggles
Worries about becoming too dependent on AI, so …
• “I think the if the student can learn how to use it [AI]
earlier it will be better … but still try to not just give
everything to the AI”. ….
• “I write [my] own version first, then ask ChatGPT for
revision, sometimes [ask it to] generate a lot of
versions” like “when we did the slogan in PnD [Product
and Development] class, I used like 20 times”.

17. Case 3: Aria
28 yrs, TOEIC 900+, US Masters, Deloitte accountant 3+
yrs, quiet, perfectionist
AI use? – APPRENTICE:MASTER
• “I use [it for] like pretty much everything
… on ChatGPT for my assignment … not
only because it can help me generate a
more … natural and fluent language but also
because I think I can learn a lot of how it used
the language”
2 main benefits:
1. “language learning”,
2. “it increased my speed of doing everything.
… it gave me an okay answer, and then I
just need to modify it, so I think um it saves
me a lot of time”

18. Case 3: Aria
AI use improve English? Yes!
Reading + Writing + Vocab:
• “I think I learned a lot of um like a more natural
[English] use of ChatGPT because even though I put
in a prompt, I need to read what's the outcome and I
think that helped me improve a lot, [such as
language] I didn't realize [read] in English novels … I
think especially the [reading] speed improved and
also maybe like sometimes if there's somewhere I
don't really know, I think I'll go and research so that
also increase my … vocab for that”.
Prompting improved writing ability:
• “when I um put in the prompt, I also need to think of
how … to say whatever what I want the AI to do, so I
think that also increased my writing ability because
sometimes it's like if I type it [and] express in the
wrong way, then it will not give me the outcome I
want, so I need to keep revising”.

19. Case 3: Aria
Productivity
• “Before, if I don't have this AI tool, then I need to
write everything by myself, that will take a lot of
time. But right now, I just need to put, like, a few
prompts and then make sure that the result is the
one I want, and then I think that saves me a lot of
time …”
• “[By myself,] I think I can do it within maybe half an
hour for an email … I need to check that if the word
I'm using is proper, so that'll take actually a lot of
time … but if I use AI then I think it would be less
than 15 minutes … probably less than 10
minutes.”
Struggles
• None mentioned … maybe overuse?

20. Case 3: Aria – LinkedIn
profile assignment
Human-first workflow
Step 6: students had to analyze the
revised version and say what they kept
and why.
Aria wrote a full, single-spaced page
• I tried to be humble to be connected
with people, so I chose to use the
words “honored to connect” and “learn
more about your opportunities”.
• In addition, I’m still showing my
passion at the end, so I used words like
“eager”, “passion”, and “drive to
work”.
As a teacher, I did not have to correct any
mistakes, but was able to focus on style
and coherence

21. Chloe’s story:
I-in-class to AI-on-the-
job

22. Chloe’s story: Pre-ITI (Jan
2023)
25 years old
2-3 yrs work experience
BA in Foreign Languages and
Applied Linguistics
TOEIC 920 – strong knowledge of
English
But lacked practice and confidence
… Shy and hesitant in speaking
Career dream: digital marketer
Obstacle?
• No relevant education
• No experience
• Not technophile, did
not know about
ChatGPT

23. Chloe’s story:
@ITI
AI power user
• “I used ChatGPT for almost every assignment. I really enjoyed the process
of telling AI tools to do something, observing the response, and modifying it to
get a very impressive outcome. I would also discuss this with my teammates.
Sometimes we would get some very interesting responses, discuss them,
and have a really good time.”
Assignments
• Sales presentations, negotiations, marketing plans, advertisements, emails,
resumes, LinkedIn profiles, industry research and report writing, etc
Helpful
• “With ChatGPT, my IELTS 6.5-writing ability immediately jumped to 8.5 or 9. I
noticed how it changed certain phrases, grammar or vocabulary and
improved my English.”
Transformations
• Confident about the good AI content
• But becoming “less confident in myself … maybe rely too much on AI”

24. Chloe’s LinkedIn
assignment
She experimented with different prompts to
make the writing more passionate, creative,
humorous …
• Prompt 1: please rewrite this LinkedIn
about section with more details and
creativity
• Prompt 2: please rewrite this LinkedIn
about section in a passionate and creative
way with a bit of humor
Marketers should be creative, so I made
some recommendations … “smoke” and
“fire”

25. Chloe’s LinkedIn
assignment
Step 6 analysis and reflection:
• I think it’s interesting to use the imagery of fire to
describe passion for things, and ‘hands-on
experience’ is the phrase that didn’t occur to me
when I wrote the first draft.
• I didn’t know that I can use ‘bring a set of
something to the table’ to convey what skills I
have. I didn’t know the word ‘self-starter’ before,
and I think this is a precise word to use in my
About section.
• I think ‘tackle’ new challenges and ‘see through
to completion’ are more vivid ways to describe
what I can do. … And I think ‘a fire in my belly’
corresponds to ‘a fire in my heart’ in the first
paragraph. It can be an interesting way to
summarize my About section.

26. Chloe’s LinkedIn
assignment
7+ versions later, she posted it on LinkedIn.
A couple of months later, a stranger on
LinkedIn praised Chloe’s profile and even
invited her to join a writing group he created.

27. Chloe’s story: Post-ITI
Immediately got a job as a marketing specialist
at DigiTimes
Still an AI power user:
• “I use AI tools almost every day in my job now … more than 20 hours a week”
AI use-cases
• Brainstorm
• Translate, Summarize
• Analyze data and create charts
• Write and revise copywriting (=articles for marketing/advertising purposes), eg
shorten sentences when there are word limits, eg ads

28. Chloe’s story: Post-ITI -
CHALLENGES
1. Attention
• Once did not double check a translation because of a lack of professional knowledge
• After the article was published on the internet, a reader from an English company wrote a
critical comment about wrong word choice and accused the organization of being
unprofessional.
• “I felt ashamed”
2. Prompting
“… it has taken me a long time and practice to get good at it. I have seen coworkers use
ChatGPT and assume all you need to do is copy-and-paste text to get translated. But I have
seen some of their incoherent and weird-sounding results. I told one coworker you have to have
a good idea what outcome you want and specify the type of language and tone you want for it.”
3. Dependence
“Over-dependence is still an issue. I still feel a bit over-dependent on ChatGPT, but I now write
short emails or messages myself more often and deliberately avoid AI. I think this is another part
of AI learning—when not to use it.”

29. Chloe’s reflections
• “If you asked me [at the beginning of 2023] what career skills I needed, AI would not have
been on my list.
• So, I am still surprised how important it has become in my job. I can generate impressive
texts, summaries, and charts quite quickly and save time. And with AI brainstorming, I
think I also create better quality work than if I did it by myself—especially for more
creative tasks like writing ads.
• For people who need to write professional texts, perform analyses, and come up with
creative ideas, I think AI is an essential career skill.”

30. Conclusions
1. Different AI uses, different results … 4 case studies
• 1. Low inter: Morris: Client:AI-translator
• 2. Inter: Gavin: Student:AI-tutor
• 3-4. Adv: Aria, Chloe: Apprentice:AI-Master
Students will use tools in different ways!
2. AI will be a career skill for knowledge workers
AI usage is affected by
• training (prompting) and
• IDs (language level, motivation, personality (openness, creativity), tech
comfort, etc)

31. Conclusions
3. Prompting requires structured training
4. Dependence is a real issue
5. AI literacy vs AI fluency:
How to use AI means a change in role:
• Writers  editors, Content creators  content checkers/EVALUATORS
• BUT need competence, to evaluate, eg Morris’s problem with English tone

32. Thank you
Nigel P. Daly on LinkedIn
ndaly@hotmail.com

33. Thank you. … Q&A?
1. Different AI uses, different results … 4 case studies
• 1. Low inter: Morris: Client:AI-translator
• 2. Inter: Gavin: Student:AI-tutor
• 3-4. Adv: Aria, Chloe: Apprentice:AI-Master
Students will use tools in different ways
2. AI is career skill for knowledge workers
• AI usage affected by training (prompting) and IDs (language level,
motivation, personality (openness, creativity), tech comfort, etc)
3. Prompting requires structured training
4. Dependence is a real issue
5. AI literacy vs AI fluency:
• Writers  editors, Content creators  content checkers/EVALUATORS
• BUT need competence, to evaluate, eg Morris’s problem with English tone

35. Scott’s request after reading
Chloe’s story in Taipei Times
Featured Section
What I was thinking about was a case study about how ChatGPT is actually
being used.
Things I'm interesting in knowing...in no particular order.
- How good was her ChatGPT when she finished your class?
- Was her ChatGPT skill part of the reason she was hired?
- How is her job conventionally done? How has ChatGPT changed how it
can be done?
- I'm also interested in a more detailed understanding of what she's doing
with ChatGPT.
You mentioned problems she's encountered. That's always good to hear.
Even though we all know this, it's an important message.
I also liked your comments about how students saw their English ability
being improved by ChatGPT use. This is significant to me because my own
students overwhelming report that ChatGPT use has improved their English.
But it also reinforces the viewpoint expressed in my group that the AI is
changing to emphasis of school-based language teaching away from writing
to reading/editing skills.
CASE STUDY
AI SKILL
DEVELOPT
PROBLEMS
ENGLISH ABILITY
EFFECTS