“AI-Supported Expository Writing: Impact on Learners’ Performance” Enhancing or Hindering Critical Thinking in ESL Learners? (Published)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized language acquisition through its rapid integration into education, but its effects on higher-order cognitive development remain hotly contested. To answer whether AI-supported expository writing helps or hinders critical thinking among English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, this study explores the dual-edged role of generative AI in second language acquisition. The study assesses a purposive sample of 30 to 50 intermediate-proficiency undergraduate ESL students enrolled in academic writing courses, using a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test research design. After drafting an explanatory essay on their own (pre-test), participants used ChatGPT to participate in an AI-assisted revising session (post-test). Data collection tools include a six-criterion writing rubric, a recognized critical-thinking framework, student-AI interaction logs, a Likert-scale questionnaire, and qualitative follow-up interviews. This comprehensive approach aims to provide a clear understanding of AI’s influence on critical thinking and writing skills. Significant changes in writing performance will be evaluated quantitatively using paired-sample t-tests in SPSS, and student opinions on cognitive engagement will be captured through thematic analysis of interaction logs and interviews. The results are intended to shed light on whether AI intervention serves as a cognitive crutch that undermines independent reasoning or as a scaffold for in-depth critical reflection. In the end, this study provides crucial information for teachers and curriculum designers who want to successfully integrate generative AI technology with strong, competency-based teaching methods in higher education.
Keywords: AI-supported writing, Critical thinking, ESL Learners, Educational Technology, expository writing, generative AI