AI in Academic Writing: EFL Students’ Experiences Across Opportunities and Ethical Boundaries

Abstract

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) to write academic papers has become a growing trend in recenti tmes and is increasingly utilized by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students worldwide. This study explored the experiences of a group of EFL students from a variety of backgrounds who use Al to support their writing. The ways in which these students have been able to capitalize from the opportunities that using Al to write provides for were also investigated, as well as the various ethical boundaries that they have encountered along the way. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological case study approach, the experiences of 12 EFL students from one higher education institution were investigated by means of semi-structured interviews, which were subsequently analyzed using an interactive model of analysis as proposed by Miles and Huberman. The findings from this study revealed that there are a number of opportunities that have been provided by using Al to write, including the ability to provide students with ideas, aid with aspects of grammar and vocabulary as well as assist with the overall organization of a piece of writing and aid in meeting of deadlines. Using Al to write also provided students with a sense of confidence and assisted in independent learning.

However, a number of ethical boundaries were also revealed that need to be addressed including potential for plagiarism, over reliance on Al, the provision of inaccurate information and a lack of clear guidelines on the use of Al within educational settings. In order to combat these issues and ensure that original work is being submitted, the participants in this study revealed a number of strategies that they employed on a regular basis including paraphrasing Al generated work, adding their own ideas to work completed by Al, evaluating information obtained from Al on a critical basis and limiting the use of Al to that of support.