Assessing the Effects of Digital Technologies on Learning Behavior and Reading Motivation Among Moroccan EFL University Students

Abstract

The\ufeffintroduction\ufeffof\ufeffdigital\ufefftechnologies\ufeffand\ufeffthe\ufeffemergence\ufeffof\ufeffelectronic\ufeffreading\ufeffdevices\ufeff have\ufeffexpanded\ufeffthe\ufeffconcept\ufeffof\ufeffliteracy\ufeffand\ufeffshaped\ufeffhow\ufeffreaders\ufeffconsume\ufeffinformation\ufeff from\ufefftexts,\ufeffas\ufeffwell\ufeffas\ufeffhow\ufeffthey\ufeffperceive\ufeffand\ufeffinteract\ufeffwith\ufeffdigital\ufeffmaterials\ufeffvs.\ufeffprint\ufeff materials\ufeffin\ufeffacademic\ufeffsettings.\ufeffSeveral\ufeffyears\ufeffago,\ufeffreading\ufeffwas\ufeffmerely\ufeffa\ufeffcharacteristic\ufeff of\ufeffprint.\ufeffHowever,\ufeffwith\ufefftoday’s\ufeffadvances\ufeffin\ufefftechnology,\ufeffthe\ufeffvast\ufeffmajority\ufeffof\ufeffpeople\ufeff are\ufeffreading\ufeffblogs,\ufeffjournals,\ufeffnewspapers,\ufeffand\ufeffother\ufeffmaterials\ufeffon\ufeffdigital\ufeffscreens.\ufeffThis\ufeff study\ufeffreports\ufeffthe\ufefffindings\ufeffof\ufeffa\ufeffsurvey\ufeffon\ufeffthe\ufeffeffects\ufeffof\ufeffdigital\ufefftechnologies\ufeffon\ufefflearning\ufeff behavior\ufeffand\ufeffreading\ufeffmotivation\ufeffamong\ufeffMoroccan\ufeffEFL\ufeffuniversity\ufeffstudents.\ufeffResults\ufeff showed\ufeff that\ufeff the\ufeffmajority\ufeffof\ufeff students\ufeff reported\ufeffusing\ufeffdigital\ufeffmaterials\ufeff for\ufeff studying,\ufeff research,\ufeff and\ufeff recreational\ufeff purposes.\ufeff The\ufeff majority\ufeff of\ufeff students\ufeff also\ufeff reported\ufeff using\ufeff desktop/laptop\ufeff computers\ufeff or\ufeff smartphones\ufeff to\ufeff access\ufeff digital\ufeff materials\ufeff and\ufeff claimed\ufeff that\ufeff they\ufeff frequently\ufeff consult\ufeff PDF\ufeff documents\ufeff and\ufeff Google\ufeff books\ufeff for\ufeff coursework\ufeff materials.\ufeffAdditional\ufefffindings\ufeffsuggest\ufeffthat\ufeffprint\ufeffreading\ufeffis\ufefffavored\ufeffwhen\ufeffthe\ufeffreading\ufeff task\ufeffincludes\ufefflengthy\ufefftexts\ufeffand\ufeffdemands\ufeffmore\ufefflearning\ufeffengagement\ufeffactivities\ufeffsuch\ufeffas\ufeff highlighting\ufeffand\ufeffnotetaking;\ufeffand\ufeffthat\ufeffdigital\ufeffreading\ufeffis\ufeffpreferred\ufeffwhen\ufeffthe\ufeffreading\ufefftask\ufeff demands\ufeffless\ufeffeffortful\ufeffengagement\ufeffactivities,\ufeffand\ufeffincludes\ufeffshort\ufefftexts\ufeffand\ufeffaccessible\ufeff materials\ufeffvia\ufeffthe\ufeffInternet\ufeffat\ufeffa\ufeffpreferential\ufeffcost.\ufeffStudents\ufeffreported\ufeffthat\ufefftheir\ufeffmotivation\ufeff to\ufeff read\ufeffonline\ufeff is\ufeffdriven\ufeffby\ufeff the\ufeffneed\ufeff to\ufeffkeep\ufeffup\ufeffwith\ufeff recent\ufeff information\ufeffas\ufeffwell\ufeff as\ufeff the\ufeffneed\ufeffto\ufeffuse\ufeffusability\ufefffeatures\ufeffembedded\ufeffwith\ufeffe-texts\ufeffsuch\ufeffas\ufeffthe\ufeff‘Find’\ufefffunction\ufeff and\ufeffbuilt-in\ufeffannotation\ufefftools.\ufeffA\ufeffgreat\ufeffnumber\ufeffof\ufeffstudents\ufeffrated\ufefftheir\ufeffoverall\ufeffonline\ufeff reading\ufeff experience\ufeff as\ufeff satisfactory\ufeffor\ufeff enjoyable.\ufeff In\ufeff contrast,\ufeff students\ufeff reported\ufeff that\ufeff eyestrain,\ufeff discomfort\ufeffwith\ufeffonline\ufeff reading,\ufeff as\ufeffwell\ufeff as\ufeff the\ufeff credibility\ufeff and\ufeffquality\ufeffof\ufeff texts\ufeffencountered\ufeffonline\ufeffare\ufeffmajor\ufeffchallenges\ufeffand\ufeffbarriers\ufeffto\ufeffdigital\ufeffreading.\ufeffResults\ufeff revealed\ufeffthat\ufeffstudents’\ufeffsatisfaction\ufeffwith\ufeffonline\ufeffreading\ufeffis\ufeffpositively\ufeffcorrelated\ufeffwith\ufeff the\ufefffrequency\ufeffof\ufeffusing\ufeffdigital\ufefftexts.\ufeffAdditional\ufeffimplications\ufeffand\ufeffdirections\ufefffor\ufefffuture\ufeff research\ufeffare\ufeffconsidered. Assessing the Effects of Digital Technologies on Learning Behavior and Reading Motivation Among Moroccan EFL University Students