The Benefits and Limitations of the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in the Acquisition of Productive Skills in English as a Foreign Language—A Systematic Analysis

The aim of this paper is to provide some concrete evidence, based on the literature review, about the reliability and validity of various Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in the educational process aiming to cultivate speaking and writing skills of learners of English as a second/foreign language (EFL). For this purpose, the PRISMA methodology was employed to secure an academically accepted and valid overview of the literature on the relevant topic. After the exclusion process, 54 studies, within the years 2024–2025, were carefully analyzed. Our discussion centers around the most well-cited benefits and limitations of GenAI-induced tools in the EFL context. The most important findings highlight the significance of employing GenAI tools alongside human teachers in the learning process, as these tools provide learners with opportunities to practice the foreign language in a stress-free, authentic, and stimulating environment. The results were further discussed by reviewing the main benefits, limitations, and pedagogical implications of the proposed use of GenAI in the educational process. Several limitations were acknowledged so as to provide guidelines for future research in this area. This systematic review has been registered through PROSPERO (ID: 1126543).