Mapping the Impact of ChatGPT on EFL Learners’ Writing Skills and Motivation: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review synthesizes empirical evidence on the impact of ChatGPT on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' writing skills and motivation across 24 studies published between 2023 and 2025. Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, this review examines how ChatGPT-assisted instruction affects writing proficiency outcomes and learning motivation across diverse educational contexts. Findings reveal consistent improvements in writing quality dimensions including grammar, organization, coherence and cohesion, and vocabulary among EFL learners utilizing ChatGPT. Research demonstrates significant positive effects on learner motivation, particularly through enhanced engagement, reduced writing anxiety, and increased intrinsic motivation. However, critical gaps persist regarding long-term sustainability of learning gains, optimal pedagogical implementation strategies, and mechanisms underlying differential effectiveness across learner populations. This review identifies that ChatGPT's effectiveness is substantially mediated by instructional design quality, with structured prompts and teacher-guided implementation producing superior outcomes to unguided exploration. Recommendations emphasize cautious adoption within comprehensive pedagogical frameworks that position ChatGPT as a supplementary tool complementing rather than replacing human instruction.