Open Access

Markus Wiesinger

• The present article seeks to explain some of the phenomenal advances that have been made in the field of AI-powered language systems—ChatGPT in particular—and the effect the software has already had on EFL students’ writing practices. Through careful analysis of students’ essays and papers, it will be shown that ChatGPT is indeed a powerful tool, especially for formulaic registers of the language, such as ESP and academic writing. Its efficiency, however, depends significantly on the quality of input provided by users and the software versions employed for that purpose. Free versions appear particularly limited in this respect, while the full versions’ linguistic potential is almost "uncanny." Despite advancements in anti-plagiarism software and AI-detection tools, it has become increasingly difficult for academic supervisors to detect any minor or major transgressions by students, indicating that future referencing guidelines by APA, Harvard, etc., will need critical review. The article will also demonstrate that, much like human beings, computers struggle to learn language based on explicit rules, with recent advances emerging only after IT experts moved away from rule-driven approaches. This shift has allowed algorithms to acquire language in a way more aligned with modern language acquisition theories—implicitly. For EFL teaching, this insight suggests a needed paradigm shift from accuracy to fluency, from formal written language to informal spoken language, and, importantly, from explicit grammar teaching to implicit grammar teaching.