Artificial Intelligence in a Writing Courses: EFL Students' Perceptions

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Writing courses might result in an over-dependency on technology. Students may become too dependent on AI devices in terms of idea generation, composition or even editing, which stifles their critical, creative, and writing skills development. Thus, this research was embarked upon to examine the student's understanding of the integration of AI into Writing courses, as well as the determinants of their views. This research uses a qualitative approach characterized descriptively using a case study. The study subjects were fourth-semester students of the English Education Study Program, sampled from those taking the Writing course. There were 16 students in total. Using a questionnaire and properly planned interview, instruments helped to collect data for the study. The outcome of this study reveals that EFL Students’ Perceptions of Writing courses offered with AI assistance fall within the positive category. Besides, EFL students' parameters towards the employment of AI tools in writing courses include attitude determinants, needs determinants, interest determinants, and expectations determinants which the perceiver dominated in comparison to other determinants. As the authors have understood the perceptions and factors that affect the students, the outcomes of this research can help design more effective Writing instructional approaches that incorporate AI tools without skipping their critical thinking skills and creativity. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Writing, EFL Students, Perceptions