STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE USE OF GRAMMARLY FEEDBACK IN ACADEMIC WRITING AT A PESANTREN-BASED UNIVERSITY

Abstrak

Writing remains a challenging skill for EFL students, particularly in maintaining grammatical accuracy and coherence. The emergence of AI-powered tools such as Grammarly offers alternative support; however, limited research has examined its use in religious-based higher education contexts. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to fifth-semester students and analyzed using descriptive statistics. This study investigates students’ perceptions toward the use of Grammarly feedback in academic writing at a pesantren-based university. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to explore students’ experiences and challenges. The findings indicate that students generally hold positive perceptions of Grammarly, with most responses categorized at moderate to high levels. Grammarly is perceived as useful in improving grammatical accuracy, clarity, confidence, and learner autonomy. However, several challenges were identified, including unstable internet access, institutional regulations regarding gadget use, contextual inaccuracies, and the risk of over-reliance on automated feedback. Overall, Grammarly is considered a supportive and culturally adaptable tool when used responsibly and combined with lecturer guidance. This study contributes to the discussion of AI-assisted language learning within pesantren-based higher education contexts.