Beyond Frequency: Digital English-Learning Purposes, Motivation, and Self-Perceived Proficiency among Non-English-Major Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59110/edutrend.990Keywords:
Authentic Language Use, EFL Higher Education, Informal Digital Learning of English, Learner Engagement, Non-English-Major StudentsAbstract
Digital technologies have become an important part of English learning beyond formal classroom instruction, yet frequency of use alone may not fully capture the nature of students’ digital engagement. This study examined whether the purposes of digital English learning provided explanatory value beyond engagement frequency among non-English-major undergraduate students at an Indonesian university. Using a quantitative cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 180 students. Ten reported learning purposes were summarized into three purpose-breadth indicators: task-oriented, language-development-oriented, and authentic/communicative purposes. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed. Translation (71.7%) and assignment completion (65.6%) were the most frequently reported purposes, indicating a strong orientation toward immediate academic and language-support needs. Digital-learning frequency was positively associated with English-learning motivation (ρ = .309, p < .001) and self-perceived English proficiency (ρ = .280, p < .001). In the hierarchical regressions, frequency remained a significant predictor of both outcomes. Adding the three purpose-breadth indicators did not significantly improve the motivation model, ΔR² = .037, p = .061, and this result was sensitive to a small number of extreme observations. In contrast, purpose breadth significantly increased the explained variance in self-perceived proficiency, ΔR² = .063, p = .006, with authentic/communicative purpose breadth emerging as the only significant purpose-specific predictor (β = .248, p = .006). These findings suggest that the relevance of digital-learning purposes is outcome-specific: frequency remains important, while authentic and communicative engagement provides additional explanatory value particularly for students’ perceptions of their English proficiency.
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