Jul 2026· Pubmedia Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris· Vol 3, pp. 1-14· 0 citations· 6 references
TL;DR
The study concludes that chat-based AI supports students in essay writing, but its effectiveness depends on how students regulate its use across SRL phases, including the forethought, performance, and self-reflection phases.
Abstract
This study explores how undergraduate EFL students use chat-based AI tools in essay writing through the lens of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), focusing on the forethought, performance, and self-reflection phases. A qualitative research design was used, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 English Education students selected through purposive sampling based on their experience using chat-based AI tools. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis with both deductive and inductive coding. The findings show that in the forethought phase, students mainly set simple goals such as completing essays quickly, getting good grades, and meeting academic requirements. They also used AI to help generate ideas and organize essay structure when they had difficulties. In the performance phase, students used chat-based AI for brainstorming ideas, improving grammar and vocabulary, and developing their writing. However, they did not fully depend on AI output and often rewrote and checked the content to maintain originality and clarity. In the self-reflection phase, students viewed AI as helpful for improving writing speed, ideas, and language quality, but they also expressed concerns about overuse and dependence. Despite this, most students reported improvements in their writing skills and planned to continue using AI carefully. The study concludes that chat-based AI supports students in essay writing, but its effectiveness depends on how students regulate its use across SRL phases. The findings show that students are starting to apply self-regulated learning strategies, although their writing is still strongly influenced by task completion goals and academic demands.
Examining a four-process GenAI cycle reveals two distinct metacognitive regulation styles: Exploratory-Simplification and Systematic-Methodical, which show that students use combinations of strategies across the AI-SRL cycle.
Maria A. Perifanou, Anastasios A. Economides· Journal of educational compu...· 0 citations
This study aimed to investigate how university students use ChatGPT throughout the English writing process and how AI-assisted interaction influences their writing revisions. Using a qualitative inquiry, the study involved 30 university students who had used ChatGPT for English writing tasks at least three times. Data were collected asynchronously through pre- and post-ChatGPT writing drafts, structured reflection journals, prompt logs, and written follow-up responses from selected participants, and were analyzed thematically with triangulation to enhance trustworthiness. The findings revealed that students mainly used ChatGPT during the revising and editing stages rather than for idea generation. They engaged critically with AI-generated suggestions by selectively accepting or modifying them to preserve their own voice, examples, and contextual relevance. Draft comparisons showed an average increase of 14.3% in essay length, along with more developed sentences and conclusions, reflecting improvements in grammar, vocabulary, and organization. These findings suggest that ChatGPT functions as a supportive revision tool rather than a replacement for students' writing and provide implications for integrating generative AI into English writing instruction while promoting AI literacy and responsible AI use in higher education.
Rian Erlangga, Ratna Andhika Mahaputri, Haris Budiana· Journal of Educational Manag...· 0 citations
Mastering academic writing is a complex cognitive process requiring students to plan, translate ideas into text, and review their work. Recently, artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have become popular for supporting these demanding tasks. While students use these tools to generate ideas and improve language, concerns exist regarding their continued engagement in essential cognitive writing stages. Therefore, this study explores undergraduate learners’ perceptions of the relationship between ChatGPT usage and their writing processes. A quantitative survey design was employed, collecting data through a three-section questionnaire. The study involved 162 undergraduate respondents from various academic clusters. Overall findings indicated no significant gender differences in ChatGPT usage and writing processes, though significant differences emerged among academic clusters. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between ChatGPT use and the planning and translating stages of writing. Despite relying on the tool for drafting, students maintained critical thinking by actively verifying AI-generated information. These findings suggest that educators should transition from restricting AI tools to teaching AI literacy. Guiding students to responsibly use and evaluate AI texts will support the development of their independent cognitive skills alongside modern educational technology.
Muhammad Wajihuddin bin Johari, Noran Nur Munira Khalili, Nur Zafirah Binti Zainol et al.· International journal of res...· 0 citations
The growing use of artificial intelligence in language learning has encouraged the development of digital tools that support academic writing, and Grammarly is one of the most widely used applications. This study explored EFL students’ perceptions of Grammarly as an AI-assisted writing tool in academic writing. A qualitative case study was conducted with seventeen fourth-semester students from the English Language Education Study Program at Universitas PGRI Ronggolawe Tuban during the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected through classroom observation, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews, then analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings show that students generally perceived Grammarly positively because it helped them identify grammatical errors, improve sentence structure, and revise writing more efficiently. Grammarly also increased students’ confidence and supported more independent learning through immediate feedback. However, participants also reported several challenges, including inaccurate suggestions, dependence on internet connectivity, and the need to evaluate AI-generated feedback critically. The study concludes that Grammarly is a useful complementary tool that should support, not replace, instructors’ guidance. Integrating Grammarly into EFL writing instruction with appropriate pedagogical support may help improve students’ academic writing skills and promote learner autonomy.
The brisk integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, has fundamentally disrupted educational paradigms, specifically second language acquisition (SLA) and English as a Second Language (ESL) writing instruction. While GenAI tools offer unparalleled scaffolding for grammar, vocabulary generation, and structural organisation, their impact on higher-order cognitive skills remains highly contested. This study evaluates the empirical efficacy of ChatGPT-assisted essay writing in university-level ESL classrooms, focusing specifically on its effects on students’ critical thinking (CT) skills. Using a mixed-methods convergent parallel design over a 15-week academic semester, this study examined $N = 124$ undergraduate ESL students split into an experimental group (utilising ChatGPT as a structured co-writing and dialogue partner) and a control group (utilising conventional process-writing methodologies). Quantitative data were gathered using pre- and post-test assessments scored via a validated Critical Thinking Rubric (evaluating argument analysis, evidence evaluation, alternative perspectives, and bias recognition) along with automated linguistic analysis of student essays. Qualitative data were obtained via semi-structured focus group interviews and student reflective journals. The quantitative findings indicate that while the experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in surface-level linguistic accuracy, lexical density, and structural cohesion, their independent scores in evidence evaluation and independent thesis formulation were statistically lower than those of the control group when ChatGPT assistance was removed in unassisted proctored post-tests ($p < .05$). The qualitative thematic analysis revealed a phenomenon termed "cognitive outsourcing," where students routinely accepted AI-generated assertions without epistemological verification. However, a sub-cohort trained in aggressive prompt engineering and dialectical inquiry demonstrated elevated critical engagement. This paper proposes a “Dialectical AI-Scaffolding Framework” designed to shift ChatGPT from a product-generation tool to an intellectual sparring partner, ensuring that GenAI advances rather than compromises critical thinking in ESL pedagogy.
E. R. B. Raju, E. Namratha· International Journal of Eng...· 0 citations
Generative AI tools are becoming common in language education, but their use in EFL writing classes still needs careful guidance. This study examines how ChatGPT supports self-regulated writing in an EFL classroom, with a focus on the performance phase. Ten Vietnamese EFL university leaners at A2–B1 level completed a short classroom-based writing activity. They wrote an initial draft, used a self-monitoring checklist, interacted with ChatGPT through focused prompts, recorded their revision decisions, and produced a revised draft. The data included initial and revised drafts, prompt logs, self-monitoring checklists, revision decision logs, and short reflections. The findings show that ChatGPT helped learners check clarity, coherence, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence expression while writing. The mean writing score increased slightly from 6.60 to 6.96. However, the improvement was limited and was mainly found at the sentence level. Some learners also depended on ChatGPT suggestions when they lacked confidence. The study suggests that ChatGPT can support drafting and self-monitoring during the performance phase when it is used with teacher guidance, focused prompts, and clear revision tasks.
Tuong Thi Xuan Thu, Dang Thi Kim Giao· Journal of Social Science an...· 0 citations
