Investigating Efl Students` Writing Practices Through Grammarly - Supported Learning

Abstract

Using a descriptive qualitative design, this study involved six EFL students who had experience using Grammarly in their English writing activities. The study aimed to examine how Grammarly is integrated into students’ writing practices and to identify the aspects of writing supported by the application. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documentation, and screenshots comparing students’ writing before and after revision using Grammarly. The data were analyzed through data reduction, conclusion drawing, and verification. The findings revealed that Grammarly supported students in reflective learning by assisting them in reviewing, revising, and evaluating their writing. The application provided immediate feedback that enhanced students’ engagement and metacognitive awareness, while encouraging them to critically evaluate suggestions before applying revisions. Grammarly supported several aspects of writing, including grammatical accuracy, consistency in tense usage, subject–verb agreement, sentence structure, vocabulary choice, writing clarity, and overall writing quality. These improvements contributed to more accurate, coherent, and readable texts. Students also reported increased confidence and greater independence in completing writing tasks. However, participants emphasized that Grammarly could not replace lecturers’ feedback, particularly in understanding contextual meaning and supporting idea development. Overall, Grammarly functioned as a learning companion that encouraged EFL students to engage in more critical, process-oriented, and autonomous writing practices. These findings suggest that integrating Grammarly into English writing instruction can enhance grammatical accuracy, self-editing skills, and writing confidence while enabling teachers to provide more effective feedback and foster learner autonomy in the writing process.