HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES -------------------------- HOANG THI HANH NGUYEN MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2023 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES -------------------------- HOANG THI HANH NGUYEN ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS’ USE OF DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR INFORMAL LANGUAGE LEARNING AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: DR. TRUONG BACH LE THUA THIEN HUE, 2023 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------------------------- HOÀNG THỊ HẠNH NGUYÊN KHẢO SÁT VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC NGUỒN TÀI NGUYÊN KỸ THUẬT SỐ CHO VIỆC TỰ HỌC NGÔN NGỮ NGOÀI LỚP HỌC (INFORMAL LANGUAGE LEARNING) CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2023 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Signed: Hoang Thi Hanh Nguyen Date: 11/11/2023 ABSTRACT The study was conducted to investigate English-majored students’ experiences and their perception towards the usage of digital resources for their informal language learning (ILL). The research employed a mixed-methods approach in data collection and analysis on a sample of second year English-majored students at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. The data collection instruments included questionnaires, which were delivered online to the participants, and semi-structured interviews carried out with interviewed participants. The results of the study showed that students frequently utilized a variety of digital resources for ILL, with online/offline dictionaries and translators, TV programs, YouTube videos, social networking, and language learning sites being the most commonly used.
Additionally, the study identified challenges faced by the participants, such as the excessive diversity of resources, students’ concerns about their reliability and quality, and lack of teachers’ guidance. Moreover, with the integration, students perceived improvements in their overall English proficiency, specific language skills and knowledge and affective factors, including confidence, motivation, and enjoyment. The study also highlighted the most influential factors affecting students’ resource choices, encompassing both external and internal factors, namely peers, teachers, famous and successful language learners, students' interests, and personal needs. Besides, these preferences were due to the characteristics of digital resources, including their provision of updated knowledge, user-friendliness, accessibility, familiarity, and the entertaining nature of the resources.
Finally, some implications for EFL teachers and students were provided for optimal use of digital resources for ILL, and recommendations for further investigation were presented. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Truong Bach Le, for his considerate assistance, patience, and helpful support. With his thorough guidance, this thesis paper was successfully accomplished. Next, my sincere thanks also go to all of the second-year English-majored at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International studies, who agreed to participate in my study despite their busy schedules.
Their responses are so valuable and greatly helped me shape the findings of this research. I would also like to extend my thanks to my family and friends who always gave me great encouragement throughout the process of conducting this study. Hopefully, the findings of this study can serve as a useful source for further studies in the language and education field, helping to improve the quality of EFL teaching and learning practice. LIST OF TABLES Table 1.
Classification of IDLE contexts. Summary of the main categories in the questionnaire. The reliability statistics of the piloted questionnaires. Summary of the research instruments for each research question.
The reliability statistics of the official questionnaires. Frequency of participants’ use of digital resource for ILL. Mean Score Interpretation. Students’ use of ILL digital resources for improving English skills and knowledge.
Mean score and SD score of Frequency of individual’s use of digital resources in different ILL contexts. Students’ perception towards the effects of ILL digital resources. 62 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Percentage of participants by gender.
Percentage of participants by major. Participants’ self-rated proficiency in their English skills. Students’ daily time allocation for ILL using digital resources. Percentage of individual’s use of digital resources in different ILL contexts.
Participants’ Ranking of Most Useful Resources for ILL. Percentage of factors influencing participants’ use of ILL digital resources. 66 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language HUFLIS Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies ICT Information and communications technology ILL Informal Language Learning IDLE Informal Digital English Learning L2 A Second Language TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction .1 Background of the study .2 Rationale of the study .3 Aims of the study.5 Significance of the study .6 Structure of the study .7 Summary of the chapter. 7 Chapter 2: Literature Review.
Informal language learning. The concept of informal language learning. Dimensions of informal language learning. Informal digital English learning.
Potentials of informal language learning. Digital resources in informal language learning. The use of digital resources for informal language learning. Types of digital resources and associated activities used for informal language learning.
Positive outcomes of digital resources in informal language learning .3 Challenges of using digital resources for informal language learning. Factors affecting the use of digital resources for informal language learning 22 2. Summary of the chapter. Research design and methods .2 Participants of the study .1 Rationale for using questionnaires.
Rationale for using interviews .3 Summary of the research instruments. Data collection procedure. Reliability and validity .7 Summary of the chapter. 44 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion.
Participants’ demographic information. Self-rated English proficiency. Frequency of participants’ use of digital resources for ILL. Participants’ activities with digital resources for ILL .1 Participants’ time allocation for ILL digital resources.
Participants’ use of ILL digital resources for improving English skills and knowledge. Frequency of participants’ use of digital resources in different contexts of ILL. Participants’ challenges in using digital resources for ILL. Participants’ perception towards the effects of ILL digital resources.
Participants’ perception towards the effects of ILL digital resources on English proficiency. Participants’ perception towards the effects of ILL digital resources on affective factors. Participants’ perception towards the most useful digital resources for ILL. Factors influencing participants' use of digital resources for ILL.
Research question 1: What digital resources do HUFLIS second-year English-major students use for informal language learning to improve their English proficiency?. Research question 2: How do HUFLIS second-year English-major students use digital resources for informal language learning to improve their English proficiency?. Research question 3: What are the perceptions of HUFLIS second-year English- major students towards the effects of informal language learning by using digital resources?. Research question 4: What factors influence HUFLIS second-year English-major students' use of digital resources for informal language learning?.
78 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Implications .1 Summary of the findings. For EFL university students. For EFL teachers .3 Limitations of the study .4 Recommendations for future studies .1 Background of the study In the 21st century, the era of strong globalization and integration, English has become an international language which has been widely used in a variety of sectors such as tourism, education, business, and so forth. Not only has English been used for oral communication among speakers from different nations but this language has also been made use of for written materials such as newspapers, websites, blogs, and books all over the world.
Thus, the command of English is more than just an essential and potent tool for achieving individual and career objectives; it also acts as a key factor for success in obtaining a position in the job market. To achieve such a command of English, EFL learners are required to undergo constant practice with a great deal of patience, under favorable language learning conditions related to the learners themselves, instructors or teachers, learning materials, interpersonal communication skills, and educational environments. According to Cummins (2008), this might require continuous exposure, practice, and active language learning during a period of several years. Understanding the great importance of English as a foreign language and the requirements for acquiring English proficiency, Vietnamese Ministry of Education made English a compulsory subject for students from primary schools to high schools.
Furthermore, English has become a prerequisite for students of different majors at tertiary level to graduate, which further emphasizes the significance of English language education. Many universities across Vietnam offer specialized English undergraduate programs to cultivate a workforce with a mastery in English, meeting the demands of high-level English proficiency employees for such fields as English Pedagogy, English linguistics, interpretation, and translation. However, despite the effort made by Vietnamese educators, this is not enough when EFL 1 students in Vietnam still has to face a number of hindrances which are in line with the constraints proposed by Richard (2015), including time limitation, unsuitable class size, which leads to the lack of English-speaking environment and fewer opportunities for authentic communication and practice, test orientation curriculum, the lack of materials, and teachers’ limited English proficiency. Consequently, this leads to a change in people’ perception and conceptualization of English teaching and learning, which no longer merely based on in-class instructions, and more attention has been paid to the learning process taking place in contexts outside the classroom, which can help to compensate for the above- mentioned shortcomings.
Corresponding to this viewpoint, Hyland agrees: “Language learning can take place at any time and in any place, including the home and the community” (2004, pp. Although most foreign language research has strongly emphasized on formal language learning, namely the learning that takes place within classroom settings (Richards, 2015), several researchers hold the belief that informal language learning should be paid equal attention compared to formal learning (De Wilde et al. Lee, 2019; Sundqvist, 2019) due to its great potentials. It is also argued that second language learning is not confined to the classroom but extends to learning experiences outside classroom contexts as these out-of-classroom activities address the limitations of the classroom learning process (Nunan & Richards, 2015).
Informal language learning was first defined by Watkins and Marsik (1992) as a process resulting from learners’ experience, occurring beyond formal educational settings in a planned or unplanned manner, which takes place mostly unintentionally, and the involved activities do not specifically aim at learning. In recent decades, the penetration of digital technologies has increasingly been greater in education practice, especially in English language learning. Since students have easy and almost free access to a wide range of digital tools and platforms, with the assistance of 2 computers, mobile phones, and the internet, the learning process does not merely occur in classroom or institutional contexts. In fact, students have involved themselves more in informal language learning thanks to the high availability of technology and digital resources.
These resources provide numerous opportunities for learners to be exposed to authentic language input and integrations. Moreover, the pervasion of technologies, which enables language learners to get frequent exposure to digital platforms and online communities, helps to make their digital informal learning become normalized and socially common, and this leads to more open-minded and broader views on the concept informal language learning in terms of learners’ intention, purposes and plan when associating technology in their language learning outside institutional contexts.