Correlation Between AI-Assisted Grammar Development and EFL Learners' Writing Self-Efficacy: A Literature Review

Abstract

Grammar competence is a foundational element of writing quality in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, yet EFL learners face persistent grammatical challenges that undermine their performance and confidence. AI tools have demonstrated effectiveness in supporting grammar learning through personalized, adaptive, and interactive feedback. However, research has predominantly focused on measurable outcomes, leaving the psychological dimension of AI-assisted grammar learning — particularly its relationship with writing self-efficacy — underexplored. Writing self-efficacy, defined as one's belief in their capacity to produce written text successfully, has been linked to writing performance and is a central construct in Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory. This literature review examines research on AI-assisted grammar learning in EFL settings and its potential correlation with students' writing self-efficacy. Drawing on studies on grammatical competence, AI integration in language education, and self-efficacy in writing, this review identifies a significant gap: while AI tools improve grammar performance and engagement, their influence on self-efficacy beliefs remains insufficiently examined. This relationship is key to understanding AI's pedagogical impact across cognitive and affective dimensions of learning. This review suggests that EFL teachers should pair AI-based grammar tools with explicit feedback to strengthen learners' self-efficacy, while future studies should employ mixed-methods designs to measure this correlation empirically.