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Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on CALL Vol. 17, No.12. July 2026 Pp. 365-378
King Abdul Aziz University, English Language Institute
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
The paper discussed the effects of using AI-assisted learning in a Process Writing Approach on writing performance and psychological well-being of EFL students. The value of the work is that the paper will examine the lack of consideration of both cognitive and emotional products in AI-assisted-writing studies. The quasi-experimental design used is a pre-test/post-test over 6 weeks, with a sample of 60 level A2 EFL students. Data were collected using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, a well-being scale based on the PERMA framework, a Writing Anxiety Scale, and a test of writing skills. The findings indicated statistically significant positive changes in writing and psychological well-being and a large negative change in writing anxiety (p <.001) with moderate to large effect sizes. The findings reveal that an AI-assisted process writing has the potential to promote emotional well-being and academic development. The absence of a control group, however, does not allow for causal interpretation of the results. The study attracts an accent on the need to introduce AI in pedagogically informative writing training to enhance performance and well-being within the EFL classroom. More research is required with controlled experimental and longitudinal designs that will establish cause and effect relationships and explore long-term effects.
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Dr. Ghadah H. Batawi is an assistant professor of Applied Linguistics at King Abdulaziz University, English Language Institute (ELI), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She was awarded her PhD in Modern languages/ Applied Linguistics from University of Southampton, UK in 2019. Her research interests include ESL/EFL teaching methodologies, Curriculum development, L2 writing, technology-based instruction, blended learning, and artificial intelligence in education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8854-7585