ChatGPT-Assisted Literature Learning and Critical Thinking in EFL Contexts: A Survey Study of Student Perceptions

This study examines undergraduate students’ perceptions of ChatGPT -assisted literature learning and its relationship to critical thinking development in English as Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Responding to growing interest in generative AI in humanities education, the study investigates how students perceive the contribution of ChatGPT to literary analysis, higher-order thinking, and reflective engagement, while also examining whether these perceptions vary by gender and academic level. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 655 Kurdish EFL undergraduates through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire measuring five constructs: AI use in literature learning, literary analysis skills, critical thinking development, higher-order thinking, and reflection and dependency. Reliability and validity measures indicated good internal consistency and sampling adequacy. Findings revealed strongly positive perceptions of ChatGPT as a pedagogical support tool for literary interpretation, analytical reflection, and the development of critical engagement with multiple perspectives. Independent-samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA showed no statistically significant differences across gender or academic level, suggesting broad consistency in students’ attitudes toward AI-assisted learning. While participants generally viewed ChatGPT as supportive of critical and reflective learning, they also emphasized its use as a complement rather than a substitute for independent reasoning. The study offers pedagogical implications for the critical integration of generative AI in EFL literature instruction and contributes to emerging scholarship on AI-mediated humanities education.