Exploring the Effect of Corrective Feedback Through QuillBot on EFL Learners’ Writing Skill

The utilization of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools to provide feedback has facilitated the process of teaching and learning to write. Nowadays, teachers are better equipped to deliver constructive feedback thanks to the introduction of technology into writing classes. Considering the benefit above, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of corrective feedback through QuillBot, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing skill. The participants were twenty-four EFL learners at the intermediate level of language proficiency. They were assigned to three different treatment groups. A five-paragraph essay was used as the pretest and posttest. The paired samples t-test findings, conducted in SPSS, showed a substantial increase in the writing abilities of the group that received QuillBot feedback from the pretest to the post-test. The one-way ANOVA test result also revealed that when compared to the other groups, students in the Teacher QuillBot feedback group had a considerable increase in their overall writing ability. The findings of the qualitative segment of the study based on the thematic analysis of the semi-structured interview showed that students were quite satisfied with QuillBot’s performance as a source of feedback. It was also claimed to have certain drawbacks concerning specific issues that some of the students in the QuillBot feedback group were experiencing. Nonetheless, the results have demonstrated that the application of AWE tools, specifically QuillBot feedback, in conjunction with teacher input can significantly enhance EFL writing instruction.