EFL students’ perceptions of AI-assisted writing tools: A systematic narrative hybrid review

This study investigates the impact of ChatGPT on EFL students' argumentative writing development of 30 third-year English majors. The research examines writing quality improvements, student perceptions, and patterns of AI tool usage across a 16-week period. This study employed a mixed-methods design to investigate both students' writing development and their perceptions of AI integration. Writing development was assessed through comparative analysis of participants' first and fifth drafts as pre-test and post-test assessments, while perceptions data were collected through a validated 17-item questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.89) focusing on confidence and concerns in AI-assisted writing. Essays were evaluated using an adapted AIAS framework focusing on six dimensions: content, organization, language use, critical thinking, AI integration, and academic integrity. The quantitative analysis revealed significant enhancements in writing performance, with the most substantial improvements in academic integrity (+3.0 points. Furthermore, the thematic analysis of the draft comparisons demonstrated marked progression in argument construction, evidence integration, and academic voice. This research provides insights for developing pedagogical frameworks that optimize AI integration while fostering independent writing competencies.

So You Want to Write a Narrative Review Article?

Background and Objectives: The emergence of AI-driven writing assistants has sparked discussions on the potential benefits and drawbacks of these tools in higher education. While AI tools can enhance writing skills, provide instant feedback, and facilitate brainstorming, concerns persist regarding academic integrity, ethical considerations, and over-reliance on AI. This study aimed to explore Thai university students' perceptions and experiences with generative AI tools—ChatGPT and Gemini—within the context of academic writing in English. By examining these students' subjective experiences, this research also sought to better understand the benefits and risks associated with AI-driven writing assistants in higher education, particularly in Thailand’s unique academic environment. Methodology: A qualitative approach was employed using semi-structured interviews with 12 Thai university students selected through purposive sampling. The study applied thematic analysis to identify key patterns and insights from the participants' responses. NVivo software was used for data organization. The study was grounded in the constructivist paradigm, emphasizing students' subjective experiences and contextual understanding of AI usage in academic writing. Main Results: Thai university students view ChatGPT and Gemini as valuable aids for academic writing, particularly in brainstorming, structuring ideas, and improving grammar. AI-assisted feedback boosted confidence and writing quality, but concerns about over-reliance, academic integrity, and ethical considerations were prominent. Students employed strategies like paraphrasing and cross-referencing AI-generated content to ensure originality. While AI enhanced language learning through real-time feedback, some feared it might lead to superficial learning and reduced engagement in skill development. The findings underscore the need for clear academic guidelines to help students balance AI use with independent learning. Discussions: This study highlights the dual nature of AI integration in academic writing—offering both significant advantages and potential risks. Students demonstrated a pragmatic approach, leveraging AI for efficiency while maintaining an awareness of ethical considerations. Their cautious engagement suggests that AI is seen as a supplementary tool rather than a complete replacement for traditional writing and learning methods. The findings align with broader discussions on responsible AI use in education, emphasizing the importance of balanced and mindful engagement with AI technologies. The study also underscores the importance of institutions developing clear guidelines on AI usage, as well as offering digital literacy programs that can help students navigate the ethical and practical aspects of AI integration. These efforts could ensure that AI tools enhance the learning experience without compromising academic integrity or the development of essential writing skills. Conclusions: This study provides valuable empirical insights into how Thai university students perceive and utilize AI tools, particularly ChatGPT and Gemini, in academic writing. AI tools were found to significantly support writing quality and language development, yet concerns over over-reliance, ethics, and integrity remain. The findings stress the necessity of institutional policies and structured guidance to foster responsible AI use. Future research should include cross-cultural comparisons to examine variations in AI adoption within higher education. Longitudinal studies could assess AI’s long-term impact on writing proficiency, and targeted interventions should be developed to promote balanced and ethical AI integration in academic contexts.

The increasing integration of Generative AI (Gen-AI) tools in higher education has transformed students’ learning processes, offering benefits such as enhanced productivity, idea generation, and writing assistance. However, concerns are growing over students’ dependency on these tools and its impact on cognitive development and academic integrity. This study investigates how postgraduate students at KPPIM, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), transition from using Gen-AI as an academic aid to developing a dependency that may undermine critical thinking, problem-solving, and ethical decision-making. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study adopts a quantitative research approach to analyze the relationship between students’ perceptions of Gen-AI (Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use), their dependency behaviors, and their ability to uphold academic integrity. Data will be collected through structured surveys, using validated instruments such as the Dependence on Artificial Intelligence (DAI) Scale and the Academic Integrity Scale (AIS). Regression analysis will be employed to examine the influence of AI dependency on students' ethical academic practices. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable insights into the ethical implications of AI usage in education. By identifying the factors contributing to Gen-AI dependency and its effects on academic integrity, this research will support the development of institutional policies, ethical guidelines, and AI literacy programs to promote responsible AI use in higher education. Ultimately, the study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on balancing AI’s benefits with the need for academic integrity and independent learning.

This study investigates the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, to enhance language digital literacy, creativity, and motivation in EFL learning environments. Adopting a quantitative, cross-sectional design, the data for this study were collected from n = 420 undergraduate EFL students at one public sector university in China, using validated scales to measure SDG integration (SDG), Use Generative AI like ChatGPT (UCGPT), digital literacy (DL) EFL Students' creativity (SC), EFL Students' motivation (SM) and language learning engagement (LLE). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze direct, mediating, and moderating effects. Findings revealed that SDG integration and UCGPT were significantly associated with SM, which in turn predicted digital literacy and EFL students' creativity. Moreover, LLE moderated the relationship between DL and SC, while SM mediated the effects of SDG integration and UCGPT on digital literacy. These results highlight the transformative potential of integrating SDGs and AI tools in EFL education, providing scalable strategies to develop 21st-century skills. Additionally, the study provides concrete strategies for EFL teachers, such as tasking students with using ChatGPT to prepare for debates on SDG topics, like climate justice, or to co-create multilingual social media campaigns for sustainability awareness. These applications demonstrate how to operationalize SDG-AI integration in everyday lesson planning.

ABSTRACTBackgroundGenerative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT are increasingly relevant in dental education, offering potential enhancements in personalised learning and clinical reasoning. However, specific guidance from dental institutions remains unexplored.AimTo identify, analyse and summarise existing guidelines from universities and organisations on using GenAI in dental education, focusing on recommendations for academic staff.MethodsA scoping review (10.17605/OSF.IO/3XMP7) searched for GenAI guidance on university websites, search engines (Google Search, Scholar, Perplexity and PubMed) and through contacting relevant academics (January 2022 to June 2024). Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data, including implementation details, AI tools and permitted/prohibited uses. Thematic analysis revealed common applications, benefits, challenges and recommendations.ResultsThirty‐one unique documents were included from 21 universities in 15 countries and three international organisations. Thematic analysis identified common applications, benefits, challenges and recommendations for integrating GenAI, including facilitating teaching and learning, personalised learning, efficient content creation and encouraging critical thinking. However, challenges such as academic integrity, ethical use, bias and privacy issues were also identified. No dental education‐specific guidelines were found.ConclusionThis review identified and summarised existing GenAI guidelines from universities and organisations relevant to dental education. The guidelines emphasise ethical use, transparency, academic integrity, secure environments and AI misuse detection tools. However, the absence of dental specific guidance presents an opportunity to fill this gap, providing recommendations for academic staff to integrate GenAI effectively while promoting critical thinking and responsible AI use.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the application of artificial intelligence (AI), namely ChatGPT, for educational purposes. However, EFL students' insights of the ethical use of using ChatGPT in academic writing remain unexplored. The purpose of this study is to reveal the EFL students' perspectives on the ethical use of Chat GPT in academic writing. Data were obtained from 54 EFL students who have taken academic writing course by using a Likert Scale questionnaire, with a focus on ethical issues such as plagiarism, academic integrity, over-reliance on ChatGPT, data biases, and unclear guidelines. The findings show that students significantly concerns about the ethical use of ChatGPT, though a small number remain unaware of these issues. The study recommends incorporating ethical education regarding ChatGPT into academic curricula. Lecturers or teachers should focus on helping students understand the ethical challenges related to the application of ChatGPT, such as plagiarism and bias. Additionally, clear guidelines for ChatGPT use in academic writing should be established to promote academic integrity and responsible ChatGPT use.

Background: In the context of the rapidly advancing 5G era, mobile short video platforms have become integral to modern media communication. Tik-Tok, a prominent social media app in China with over a billion daily users, has transformed how people access information. This evolution has profound implications for shaping a city's image, which holds sway over a region's influence in an increasingly globalized world. Objective: This systematic narrative literature review explored empirical evidence on city image building and communication on Tik-Tok platform. And also gave a new strategy from governmental perspective for the building and dissemination of Xi'an's city image on the Tik-Tok platform in the future. Participants and setting: This research selected the article on the Scopus, and CNKI databases. The review is limited to articles published in journals in English and Chinese during the three years from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2023. Methods: The systematic approach to literature reviewing was utilized 'Systematic Narrative Review'. This research used content analysis to systematically organize the literature over the last three years. Results: The review summarizes the findings of the selected studies, which show that governments have the ability to strategically use the Tik-Tok short-form video platform to intangibly build and communicate the urban image of a specific region in the face of the challenges of developing urban communication. Conclusion: The review highlights that short video-driven city image construction and communication pose noteworthy opportunities and challenges. This warrants deeper scholarly investigation. Through studying Xi'an's TikTok-based city image building, this paper explores governmental strategies for content creation and communication.

The application of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), and specifically chatbots like ChatGPT, has radically altered the teaching of English writing at higher education, particularly in ESL environments like Pakistan. This paper will explore the opportunities and risks and the academic integrity implications of GenAI use in writing practices at university level. With the help of a quantitative research design, students and educators were surveyed to examine trends of AI use, its effect on writing performance, and ethical issues. The results show that GenAI improves the quality of writing through more accurate grammar, coherence, and generation of ideas, which facilitates students in their learning and engagement. But the research also shows that there is more and more reliance on AI tools and more and more issues associated with academic honesty, such as plagiarism and originality. Moreover, the lack of specific institutional policies and low AI literacy also makes it easier to contribute to unethical use. The research comes to the conclusion that GenAI has considerable pedagogical advantages, but its successful implementation will need a moderate methodology that will involve policy formulation, ethical principles, and sensitization. These are necessary steps towards responsible usage and to uphold the standards of higher education in Pakistan.

This study aims to explore EFL grammar learning through AI-driven contextual conversations at the university level in Arab countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia. To achieve the objectives of the study, 110 students who are enrolled at University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia, participated in this study. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect the data of the study. The participants sat for a pre-test and a post-test, and they participated in filling in a questionnaire that was designed for the purpose. The findings of the study showed that there was an improvement in the post-test after the students used an AI tool for learning English grammar through contextual conversations. The findings of the study also showed that AI is engaging and enjoyable in learning English grammar. The AI tool that the students used enhanced the students’ motivation and confidence to learn grammar. The students found that the feedback of the AI tool was clear, constructive, and highly beneficial for learning grammar. It showed that learning grammar by AI tool is more effective as it is used in realistic contexts. Its ease of use was another key factor that helped the students focus on learning without technical barriers. The students’ preference for the AI tool over traditional methods suggests that the grammar instruction could benefit significantly from AI integration. The study ended with some recommendations that would certainly benefit the EFL learners, instructors and syllabi makers and enhance the learning environment. Some pedagogical implications are also included accordingly.

This study examines the factors that may impact the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools for students’ assessment in tertiary education from the perspective of early-adopter instructors in the Middle East. It utilized a self-administered online survey and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to collect data from 358 faculty members from different countries in the Middle East. The Smart PLS software 4 was used to analyze the data. The findings of this study revealed that educators developed new strategies to integrate Gen AI into assessment and used a systematic approach to develop assignments. Moreover, the study demonstrated the importance of developing institutional policies for the integration of Gen AI in education, as a driver factor influencing the use of Gen AI in assessments. Additionally, the research identified significant factors, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and hedonic motivation, shaping educators’ behavioral intentions and actual use of Gen AI tools to assess students’ performance. The findings reveal both the potential advantages of Gen AI, namely enhanced student engagement and reduced instructor workloads, and challenges, including concerns over academic integrity and the possible negative impact on students’ writing and thinking skills. This study emphasizes the significance of targeted professional development and ethical criteria for the proper integration of Gen AI in educational assessment.

This study investigates the integration of generative AI in higher education and the development of the SPARRO framework, a structured approach to improving human–AI interaction in academic settings. This ethnographic study explores the integration of generative AI in healthcare and nursing education, detailing the development of the SPARRO framework based on observations of student and faculty interactions with AI tools across five courses. The study identifies key challenges such as AI hallucination, mistrust of AI-generated summaries, and the difficulty in formulating effective prompts. The SPARRO framework addresses these challenges, offering a step-by-step guide for planning, prompt design, reviewing, and refining AI outputs. While the framework shows promise in improving AI integration, future research is needed to validate its applicability across other academic disciplines and assess its long-term impact on critical thinking and academic integrity. This study contributes to the growing body of research on AI in education, offering practical solutions for ethically and effectively integrating AI tools in academic settings.

PurposeA gripping keyword emerged in the dynamic world of 2022: GPT or the advent of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), at its forefront, embodied by the mysterious ChatGPT. This technological marvel had been silently lurking in the background for just over five years. However, all of a sudden, it emerged onto the scene, capturing the public’s attention and quickly becoming one of the most widely adopted inventions in history. Therefore, this narrative review is conducted in order to explore the impact of generative AI and ChatGPT on lifelong learning and upskilling of students in higher education and address opportunities and challenges proposed by Artificial Intelligence from a global perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis review has been conducted using a narrative literature review approach. For in-depth identification of research gaps, 105 relevant articles were included from scholarly databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC and Google Scholar. Seven major themes emerged from the literature to answer the targeted research questions that describe the use of AI, the impact of generative AI and ChatGPT on students, the challenges and opportunities of using AI in education and mitigating strategies to cope with the challenges associated with the integration of ChatGPT and generative AI in education.FindingsThe review of the literature presents that generative AI and ChatGPT have gained a lot of recognition among students and have revolutionized educational settings. The findings suggest that there are some contexts in which adult education research and teaching can benefit from the use of chatbots and generative AI technologies like ChatGPT. The literature does, however, also highlight the necessity of carefully considering the benefits and drawbacks of these technologies in order to prevent restricting or distorting the educational process or endangering academic integrity. In addition, the literature raises ethical questions about data security, privacy and cheating by students or researchers. To these, we add our own ethical concerns about intellectual property, such as the fact that, once we enter ideas or research results into a generative chatbot, we no longer have control over how it is used.Practical implicationsThis review is helpful for educators and policymakers to design the curriculum and policies that encourage students to use generative AI ethically while taking academic integrity into account. Also, this review article identifies the major gaps that are associated with the impact of AI and ChatGPT on the lifelong learning skills of students.Originality/valueThis review of the literature is unique because it explains the challenges and opportunities of using generative AI and ChatGPT, also defining its impact on lifelong learning and upskilling of students.

The article focuses on the interpretation of the conceptual and categorical apparatus of the terms «academic integrity» and «research integrity» in the context of the revolutionary influence of artificial intelligence on them. The main legal framework and regulatory documents of the legislation of Ukraine, which regulate the process of ensuring academic and research integrity at the national level, are analyzed. The arguments were advanced in favour that academic integrity and research consciousness are important competitive advantages of an educational or scientific institution, and also reflect the strength of one's own reputation in the market of educational services. The article presents the main aspects of compliance with the principles of professional honesty and morality with the use of artificial intelligence tools by educators and scientists in order to obtain a high-quality and ethical result. It is highlighted that AI tools can still be considered from two popularized positions in general – scientific skepticism and dogmatic knowledge, when either legitimate help and simplification of processes in the educational and scientific environment is broadcast, or there is promotion of deception, plagiarism and manipulation by their participants. The research proved the importance of creating conditions for preventing and further eliminating manifestations of academic and research dishonesty in scientific circles at the national and local levels, which include the generation of comfortable conditions in the environment in order to observe the principles of public morality by the participants; reducing the authorities' powers to ensure and check the quality of education; statistical registration of the facts of detection of unethical behavior in the field of academic and research integrity; implementation of measures to prevent plagiarism among young people at the level of educational institutions; creation and development of repositories with databases of academic and scientific texts of participants in the educational and scientific environment, as well as propaganda among educators and young scientists in the midst of the information era of the culture of combating the main forms of violations in scientific circles in order to form a new conscious civil society with traits of honesty, ethics, morality, transparency, objectivity and trust.

There are many generative AI (GenAI) tools available, and their rapid advancement has caused concerns relating to academic integrity. This chapter will consider concerns relating to academic integrity in the age of AI, including plagiarism and cheating. Awareness and education will be discussed as strategies for upholding academic integrity, as will proactive measures such as assessment design, and the need for institutional policies concerning the use of AI in education. The chapter concludes by stating that students should be taught to use generative AI ethically, responsibly and transparently and highlights how the integration of AI can foster creativity and enhance students' learning experiences.