AI literacy and mediated learner autonomy in ChatGPT-supported EFL writing: a qualitative study at a Palestinian university

Abstract The rapid expansion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has reshaped higher education, raising urgent pedagogical, ethical, and epistemic questions. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, tools such as ChatGPT challenge established understandings of learner autonomy, authorship, and academic integrity. This qualitative study examines how AI literacy mediates learner autonomy and ethical decision-making in ChatGPT use within EFL programs at a Palestinian university. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with EFL instructors and undergraduate students, the study employs thematic analysis to investigate how generative AI is interpreted and enacted in pedagogical practice. The findings indicate that ChatGPT functioned as a compensatory resource in contexts of limited instructional support, but its pedagogical value depended on learners’ AI literacy and ethical awareness. The study also challenges the “digital native” assumption by showing that technological confidence did not necessarily translate into evaluative competence or responsible AI use in Palestinian university EFL writing.