EFL Teachers Perceptions of Automated Written Corrective Feedback and Grammarly

Abstract

Automated Written Corrective Feedback (AWCF) tools have gained popularity in the instruction of writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) because of their ability to evaluate written drafts. Teachers have become interested in this aspect, as it can alleviate their workload, especially with lower-order concerns, such as vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics. However, little is known about EFL teachers' perspectives on automated feedback and how it can effectively complement their feedback regarding higher-order concerns, such as organization and content. For this purpose, this study aims to examine EFL teachers’ perceptions of the integration of Grammarly Premium as an AWCF tool for providing feedback on writing assignments, with a focus on addressing higher-order concerns (HOCs) and lower-order concerns (LOCs), particularly among undergraduate students. The study adopted a qualitative research design and employed semi-structured interviews with a sample of one pilot teacher and ten teachers at the tertiary level for the main study. The data obtained from the study was analyzed using MAXQDA 22. The results revealed that most participants responded favorably to AWCF and Grammarly. On the other hand, Grammarly is inefficient in terms of LOCs due to its incorrect vocabulary recommendations and tendency to highlight the same grammatical mistakes numerous times. Nevertheless, it is still found more useful in terms of LOCs compared to the aspects in HOCs because it failed to provide efficient feedback in terms of coherence/cohesion and still needs a human touch for this aspect. Further research can be conducted to investigate how Grammarly can be integrated into writing classes more efficiently, thereby limiting its drawbacks in terms of HOCs.