Exploring EFL Teachers and Students’ Perspectives towards the Impact of Artificial Intelligence Tools on Academic Writing

Abstract

Academic writing is an essential requirement for English as foreign language (EFL) students to reflect their experiences where they use a different style from other writing. Then the use of Artificial Intelligent (AI)-powered tools in Academic English is increasing rapidly. Accordingly, the present study aimed to explore teachers and students’ perspectives towards the impact of AI tools on academic writing. More precisely, the research investigated AI tools impact on the quality of academic written works produced by students. Additionally, this research work had as a goal to uncover drawbacks that students may encounter when integrating AI tools into Academic Writing. To accomplish the planned objectives of the present exploration we opted for the quantitative descriptive approach which comprised a data gathering tool; the questionnaire. A Questionnaire, that probed the perspectives towards academic writing impacted by AI tools, was delivered to First year Master students of English language and culture at the University of 8 Mai 1945 (Guelma), and another was administered to their teachers. Quantitative data gathered from students and teachers’ questionnaires were collected and then analyzed by SPSS software, version 25. Results highlighted the dual nature of AI's impact on academic writing. The benefits include improved grammatical accuracy, enhanced writing efficiency, and greater accessibility for diverse student needs. However, significant concerns arise regarding plagiarism, reduced creativity, and insufficient understanding of fundamental writing principles.