The impact of using ChatGPT on EFL students’ writing

ChatGPT has been increasingly serving as a helpful assistant for English as foreign language (EFL) learners, playing an undeniably important role in language learning assistance. However, few studies have investigated the impact of ChatGPT on the writing of EFL learners from an empirical research perspective. This study compares English outlines written by learners without ChatGPT assistance and their revised outlines with ChatGPT assistance. Discourse analysis of student writing results indicates that ChatGPT helps improve students' writing logical structure, enrich the content of student writing, assist students in polishing vocabulary and grammar, and enhance students' writing ability. Reflection essays show that students have a positive attitude toward using ChatGPT in writing. This study finds that ChatGPT is a useful auxiliary tool for language learning. But to make it beneficial for student learning, schools and teachers must be aware of its limitations and provide students with sufficient guidance.