Active Writers or Passive Correctors? AI Engagement Patterns and EFL Writing Skill Development

Abstract

In the field of language learning, especially in the writing of EFL students, Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tools have become omnipresent, yet there is a critical area to explore: whether these usages of AI tools develop genuine writing skills. This study will investigate whether EFL students engage with AI assistants as active writers reflecting on actual writing development or as passive correctors accepting suggestions without critical analysis. We will conduct a quantitative study with approximately 130 undergraduate students of the Department of English at Daffodil International University. We will examine participants’ patterns of behavior with AI tools using a quantitative study. We will also examine the relationship of writing to their engagement patterns and self-reported learning in short essay writing. The data will be statistically analyzed with descriptive statistics. We expect that while Active Writers show conscious metacognitive awareness of their language use, Passive Correctors will operate at a more superficial processing level. The implications of this study are to embed reflective practices in AI-supported writing instruction and to recast the pedagogical role of AI from being a correction tool to fostering learning. These suggestions give teachers and scholars concrete strategies for supporting writers who are active rather than passive when they correct writing.