Use of AI-based Platforms in Teaching and Learning of General English Writing for College EFL Learners

Objectives The present study aimed to find out the characteristics of English writing and learners' perception of the use of AI-based platforms after having university EFL learners use AI-based platforms in the English writing teaching and learning process. Methods In the 2nd semester of 2022, AI-based English writing scoring/English grammar check platform and machine translation platform were used for the English writing process for 20 students in a general English required course in C university. The English composition drafts in 3rd week (pre-test) and 15th week(post-test) were constructed as a learner corpus and were analyzed by Text Inspector and Jamovi 2.3.21. In addition, a survey and reflection writings were used to investigate learners' perceptions of learning English writing using AI-based platforms. Results As a result of analyzing the corpus of pre- and post-test, a significant improvement was shown only in terms of vocabulary diversity in English writing, and no significant difference was shown in quantitative improvement such as the number of sentences and sentence length. In addition, learners were positively aware of the effectiveness of English writing teaching and learning using AI-based platforms, and in particular, reported that it was very helpful in reducing the burden of using English, which has a positive effect on the affective aspect of using AI-based platforms. Conclusions Based on these results, it is suggested that guidance for learners, improvement of instructors' awareness, and teaching ability are necessary for the effectiveness of using AI platform and its proper use in English writing teaching and learning.