This study aimed to explore the perceptions of master students in an English Language Institute (ELI) at a Saudi university regarding the effect of ChatGPT on their critical thinking skills. The study sought to identify the challenges, potential risks students can face, and the strategies that can be used to promote critical thinking using ChatGPT. To achieve this, an explanatory-sequential mixed methods design was employed to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Two research instruments were utilized: a questionnaire with a study sample of 50 students and semi-structured interviews with a study sample of five students. The findings revealed that master students have positive perceptions towards ChatGPT. However, there are some factors that contributed to how this tool can affect students’ critical thinking, which are the types of tasks performed by ChatGPT, students’ level of engagement, and their degree of dependency on it. Furthermore, students reported serious challenges and potential risks they have faced while using ChatGPT. The reliability of the information provided by this tool, overreliance on ChatGPT, and the risk of plagiarism are serious issues that they encounter. Finally, the findings revealed that students believe that questioning what ChatGPT’ output and exploring multiple sources are important strategies to promote critical thinking skills. Furthermore, all students agreed that educational institutions must provide clear instructions and guidelines to assist students using ChatGPT ethically and effectively. Based on these findings, this study provides some implications and recommendations that would hopefully improve students’ critical thinking by using ChatGPT in educational settings.
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