EFL Undergraduate Students"™ Perceptions of Using ChatGPT as a Supplementary Tool to Develop Academic Writing Skills

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26418/jefle.v6i1.93396

Keywords:

EFL, AI, academic writing, students perception, technology

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has created new opportunities for improving language learning, especially in the field of academic writing. This research investigates the perceptions of EFL undergraduate students at Tanjungpura University concerning the utilization of ChatGPT as a supplementary tool to develop academic writing skills. The study specifically analysed the perceived benefits and challenges related to the tool. A quantitative approach was employed to collect data via a questionnaire distributed to 86 EFL students. The results indicated that most students had positive views of ChatGPT. The tool was reported to enhance writing fluency, grammar, vocabulary, idea generation, and overall clarity and coherence. ChatGPT is regarded as accessible and user-friendly, serving as a valuable tool in the writing process. Some students raised concerns regarding challenges, including irrelevant or off-topic responses, difficulties in preserving their writing style, and assessing the accuracy of AI-generated suggestions. The findings indicate that ChatGPT provides significant support for EFL learners; however, it is crucial to offer guidance on its responsible and critical use. These findings contribute to the broader discourse on integrating AI in language education and highlight its pedagogical potential in EFL academic writing

References

Abdul Rahman, N. A., Zulkornain, L. H., & Hamzah, N. H. (2022). Exploring artificial intelligence using automated writing evaluation for writing skills. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 7(SI9), 547–553. https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7isi9.4304

Alkamel, M. A. A., & Alwagieh, N. A. S. (2024). Utilizing an adaptable artificial intelligence writing tool (ChatGPT) to enhance academic writing skills among Yemeni university EFL students. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10, 101095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101095

Artiana, N., & Fakhrurriana, R. (2024). EFL undergraduate students’ perspective on using AI-based ChatGPT in academic writing. Language and Education Journal, 9(1).

Campbell, M. (2019). Teaching academic writing in higher education. Education Quarterly Reviews, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.02.03.92

Creswell, J. W. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Hidayatullah, E. (2024). Evaluating the effectiveness of ChatGPT in improving English students’ writing skills. Humanities, Education, Applied Linguistics, and Language Teaching: Conference Series, 1(1), 14–19.

Huang, H. W., Li, Z., & Taylor, L. (2020). The effectiveness of using Grammarly to improve students’ writing skills. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, 122–127. https://doi.org/10.1145/3402569.3402594

Jayavalan, K., & Razali, A. B. (2018). Effectiveness of online grammar checker to improve secondary students’ English narrative essay writing. International Research Journal of Education and Sciences (IRJES), 2(1).

Jelson, A., Manesh, D., Jang, A., Dunlap, D., & Lee, S. W. (2025). An empirical study to understand how students use ChatGPT for writing essays. Journal Name, 1(1), Article 25. https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn

Journal of Kefaya for Language and Literature. (2021). The online questionnaire: General guidelines. Journal of Kefaya for Language and Literature.

Karyuatry, J. P.-I., & Rizqan, L. (2018). Grammarly as a tool to improve students’ writing quality: Free online proofreader across the boundaries. Maret, 2(1).

Kemp, S., Hort, J., & Hollowood, T. (2017). Descriptive analysis in sensory evaluation. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118991657

Kıvrak, C. (2024). Exploring EFL students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT as a complementary tool in writing classes. Language Education & Technology (LET Journal, 4(2). http://langedutech.com

Kusmaryono, I., Wijayanti, D., & Maharani, H. R. (2022). Number of response options, reliability, validity, and potential bias in the use of the Likert scale education and social science research: A literature review. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 8(4), 625–637. https://doi.org/10.12973/ijem.8.4.625

Li, S., & Akram, H. (2024). Navigating pronoun-antecedent challenges: A study of ESL academic writing errors. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241296607

Liu, Z. (2021). Sociological perspectives on artificial intelligence: A typological reading. Sociology Compass, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12851

Mondal, H., & Mondal, S. (2023). ChatGPT in academic writing: Maximizing its benefits and minimizing the risks. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 71(12), 3600–3606. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJO.IJO_718_23

Nguyen, P. H., & Bich Dieu, N. (2024). An investigation into third-year ELT students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT as an AI writing-assistant tool: A case study in Vietnam. International Journal of Arts, Humanities & Social Science. https://www.ijahss.com

Nunan, D. (2015). Teaching English to speakers of other languages: An introduction. Routledge.

O’Neill, R., & Russell, A. M. T. (2019). Stop! Grammar time: University students’ perceptions of the automated feedback program Grammarly. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35(1).

Radford, A., Wu, J., Child, R., Luan, D., Amodei, D., & Sutskever, I. (2019). Language models are unsupervised multitask learners. OpenAI. https://github.com/codelucas/newspaper

Rahman, M., Terano, H. J. R., Rahman, N., Salamzadeh, A., & Rahaman, S. (2023). ChatGPT and academic research: A review and recommendations based on practical examples. Journal of Education, Management and Development Studies, 3(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.52631/jemds.v3i1.175

Rahmat, N. H. (2021). Writers’ beliefs and expectations in academic writing: Towards a model of writing prophecies. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i4.3737

Sumakul, D. T., Hamied, F. A., & Sukyadi, D. (2022). Students’ perceptions of the use of AI in a writing class. In W. Strielkowski (Ed.), Advances in social sciences, education and humanities research: Vol. 624. Proceedings of the 67th TEFLIN International Virtual Conference & the 9th ICOELT 2021 (TEFLIN ICOELT 2021) (pp. 103–144). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220201.009

Published

2025-07-31

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): July 2025

Section

Articles

License

  • Author retains the copyright and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
  • Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with the acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Author is permitted and encouraged to post his/her work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See  The Effect of Open Access).