The Impact of Generative AI Tools (ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Beyond) on Academic English Writing Pedagogy: A Conceptual Review

Abstract

The rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, alongside long-established automated writing evaluation systems such as Grammarly, has begun to reshape how academic English writing is taught, practised, and assessed in higher education. This conceptual review synthesises recent peer-reviewed scholarship to examine how these tools intersect with established models of writing pedagogy, including process, genre, and feedback-oriented approaches. The review situates generative AI within a longer trajectory of computer-assisted writing support before turning to its distinctive pedagogical implications: altered drafting and revision behaviour, changing patterns of teacher and peer feedback, and new anxieties surrounding authorship, originality, and academic integrity. Particular attention is given to English as a second or foreign language contexts, where generative AI has been reported to lower affective barriers to writing while simultaneously raising concerns about linguistic dependency and diminished self-editing capacity. The article is methodologically a narrative literature review rather than an empirical study; no primary data were collected. Drawing on this literature, the review argues that generative AI is best conceptualised not as a substitute for writing instruction but as a mediating tool whose pedagogical value depends on deliberate task design, explicit AI literacy instruction, and revised assessment practices. Implications for classroom practice, institutional policy, and future empirical research are outlined.