ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Language, Culture and Diversity
Artificial Intelligence in EFL Higher Education: Effects on Academic Performance and Social Competence
1. Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
2. Amman Arab University, Amman, Jordan
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Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral component of higher education, which creates new opportunities for language learning and skills development. The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of AI-supported teaching on the academic performance and social competence of undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. The study involved 60 EFL undergraduate students who were assigned to either an AI-enhanced learning group or a conventional instruction group over a 12-week intervention period. The AI- enhanced group used multiple AI-supported applications, such as Grammarly Premium to receive feedback on writing, ChatGPT to brainstorm and write with guidance, and an AI-enhanced application to pronounce words, or an online discussion board where peers engage through AI assistance. In contrast, the traditional group was provided with the traditional instructor-led teaching approach that involved printed materials, instructor feedback, and face-to-face discussions. The academic performance was measured with pre and post-test by means of a standardized examination of EFL proficiency and social competency by an adapted Social Skills Inventory (Riggio’s Social Skills Inventory (SSI)covering six subscales of emotional and social expressivity, sensitivity, and control. The findings indicated that the AI group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in academic performance, contrasting with the control group, with (15.4%) improvement in performance compared to (6.9%) in the control group. Nonetheless, social competence improvements were insignificant among groups. The results indicated that though the AI-integrated environment can positively affect a cognitive outcome in EFL undergraduate education, it is unlikely to substantially enhance interpersonal and social competencies without complementary pedagogical strategies.
Summary
Keywords
academic performance, artificial intelligence, culture, EFL, English language, higher education, social competence
Received
31 October 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Yassin and Almousa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Baderaddin Yassin
Disclaimer
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