PERCEPTIONS OF ESL LEARNERS TOWARDS THE USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING LANGUAGE SKILLS: A CASE STUDY IN SOUTHERN PUNJAB

Abstract

Digital technology has penetrated so rapidly to all walks of human life that it seems a part and parcel of the life of people belonging to any section of the society. In education, digitalized tools and their applications have done wonders. Both the teachers and the learners of all levels resort to digital technology due to the multi-faceted services offered by it. The present study explores the perceptions of ESL learners of undergraduate level at the public sector universities of Southern Punjab, Pakistan regarding their attitude towards the acceptance and the use of digital technology (DT) in developing their language skills. It is a case study of the ESL learners who are enrolled with the public sector universities of the Southern Punjab for pursuing the degree of graduation. Mixed method design has been used where at the initial stage; quantitative data was collected with the instrument of questionnaire .The data collected through quantitative method was analyzed through descriptive analysis by using SPSS and through PLS-SEM for hypotheses test and the model fit. Later the qualitative method was applied by using interview as the tool of data collection and thematic analysis was done. The findings of the study show that the ESL learners of the public universities of the Southern Punjab have positive attitude towards using digital technology in life. They have positive intention towards adoption and implementation of DT in developing their language skills.