AI-Supported Foreign Language Writing in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Writing Development and Pedagogical Challenges
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Abstract
This systematic literature review examines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in foreign language writing instruction in higher education, with particular attention to writing development and pedagogical challenges. Guided by PRISMA 2020 and the PICo framework, the review synthesizes 30 empirical studies published between 2021 and 2025 and retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The findings show that AI-supported tools, including ChatGPT, Grammarly, QuillBot, Wordtune, and neural machine translation, are most consistently associated with improvements in grammatical accuracy, lexical choice, sentence-level clarity, drafting efficiency, and selected aspects of text quality. Some studies also report reduced writing anxiety, stronger motivation, and increased learner confidence. These benefits, however, are uneven. The evidence is stronger for immediate textual improvement than for rhetorical development, independent authorship, or sustained composing ability. The review argues that AI-supported writing becomes pedagogically meaningful only when embedded in lecturer-mediated instruction, critical AI literacy, and explicit attention to ethical authorship. Without such mediation, AI risks producing more polished texts while leaving learners’ writing judgement underdeveloped. The review contributes by distinguishing AI-assisted text improvement from writer development and by positioning lecturer guidance as central to responsible AI integration in foreign language writing pedagogy
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