Personalized learning to enhance grammar in EFL learners

Abstract

The study analyzed EFL learners’ perceptions of ChatGPT as a personalized learning tool to improve grammatical accuracy. Adopting a qualitative phenomenological design, data were gathered through interviews with five eighth-semester Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages students at Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena. The findings revealed that students interacted strategically with ChatGPT across all writing stages while maintaining text authorship by drafting independently. Pedagogically, the tool functions as an accessible tutor providing immediate feedback that reduces anxiety. However, critical risks were identified, such as an over-reliance on this platform that created an illusion of competence, resulting in mental blocks during in-person examinations. Ultimately, the study concludes that ChatGPT's academic value depends entirely on the learner's critical judgment and initial language proficiency; therefore, Generative AI must complement, rather than replace, the active cognitive processing of the student.