The Effect of AI-Based Intervention in Improving the Academic Writing Among EFL Learners at a Palestinian University.
Supervisor Name
Hazem Hushayish
Supervisor Email
hazema889@ppu.edu
University
Palestine Polytechnic University
Research field
Linguistics
Bio
Dedicated Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics with a proven track record of excellence in academia and leadership. Currently serving as the Head of the Linguistics and Translation Department at Palestine Polytechnic University. I bring a wealth of experience, from Saudi universities, in curriculum development, research, and student mentorship. My expertise encompasses areas such as language acquisition and sociolinguistics, contributing significantly to the advancement of linguistic studies. I continuously strive for innovation and excellence in teaching while actively engaging in scholarly pursuits to contribute to the field's body of knowledge.
Description
Academic writing is one of the most challenging and cognitively demanding language skills for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In Palestinian universities, many English-major students continue to struggle with a limited academic vocabulary, grammatical and syntactic errors linked to mother-tongue interference, even after completing their foundational Writing 1 course. Accordingly, this study will investigate the challenges hindering writing proficiency among English-major students and evaluate changes in their writing performance based on an instructional intervention. The study will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test intervention and interviews with experienced English language instructors. Under the supervision of Dr. Hazem Hushayish, student researchers Umm Kulthum Al-Karaki, Sarah Amro, and Yoman Salhab will administer a diagnostic writing pre-test to identify the students' most prominent challenges and baseline performance levels. Based on the findings, the researchers will implement an intervention addressing the identified challenges through process-oriented writing tasks, intensive academic reading activities, and focused corrective feedback. Educational Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may also be incorporated to support self-correction. Following the intervention, the researchers will administer a writing post-test and analyze changes in students' writing performance using appropriate statistical techniques through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Instructor interviews will be analyzed thematically to explore common writing challenges. This study is expected to provide insights into students’ writing challenges and the potential benefits of the instructional intervention, offering practical recommendations for improving academic writing skills.