Trang 1 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 ful
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 NGƠN NGỮ NGỒI 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 Classification of IDLE contexts 13 Table Summary of the main categories in the questionnaire 37 Table The reliability statistics of the piloted questionnaires 38 Table Summary of the research instruments for each research question 40 Table The reliability statistics of the official questionnaires 43 Table Frequency of participants’ use of digital resource for ILL 47 Table Mean Score Interpretation 48 Table Students’ use of ILL digital resources for improving English skills and knowledge 52 Table Mean score and SD score of Frequency of individual’s use of digital resources in different ILL contexts 57 Table 10 Students’ perception towards the effects of ILL digital resources 62 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Percentage of participants by gender 45 Figure Percentage of participants by major 46 Figure Participants’ self-rated proficiency in their English skills 46 Figure Students’ daily time allocation for ILL using digital resources 51 Figure Percentage of individual’s use of digital resources in different ILL contexts 58 Figure Participants’ Ranking of Most Useful Resources for ILL 65 Figure 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 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Rationale of the study 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Structure of the study 1.7 Summary of the chapter Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Informal language learning 2.1.1 The concept of informal language learning 2.1.2 Dimensions of informal language learning 10 2.1.3 Informal digital English learning 13 2.1.4 Potentials of informal language learning 14 2.2 Digital resources in informal language learning 15 2.2.1 Digital resources 15 2.2.2 The use of digital resources for informal language learning 16 2.2.2.1 Types of digital resources and associated activities used for informal language learning 16 2.2.2.2 Positive outcomes of digital resources in informal language learning 19 2.2.2.3 Challenges of using digital resources for informal language learning 21 2.2.2.4 Factors affecting the use of digital resources for informal language learning 22 2.3 Previous studies 25 2.4 Summary of the chapter 32 Chapter 3: Methodology 33 3.1 Research design and methods 33 3.2 Participants of the study 34 3.3 Research instruments 34 3.3.1 Questionnaires 34 3.3.1.1 Rationale for using questionnaires 34 3.3.1.2 Questionnaire design 35