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MAPPING THE DIGITAL LITERACY OF EFL STUDENTS IN A RURAL HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT: A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH
Last modified: 2025-07-04
Abstract
This study intends to delineate the digital literacy of EFL students in a rural higher education context through a four-dimensional framework: digital skills, digital safety, digital ethics, and digital culture. A quantitative descriptive design was utilized to gather data from 79 undergraduate students via a structured questionnaire. The finding indicates that although students exhibit robust fundamental digital skills, especially in tool utilization and online safety awareness, they encounter difficulties in content production, academic integrity, and active participation in digital communities. The findings underscore the disparate allocation of digital literacy influenced by infrastructural and contextual constraints. The research finds that digital literacy in rural English as a Foreign Language should be recognized as a socially contextualized and culturally influenced phenomenon. The implications include a necessity for customized teaching tactics, curricular incorporation, and institutional assistance to tackle digital inequalities and foster fair access to 21st-century skills in underfunded educational environments.
Keywords
Digital literacy, EFL students, rural higher education, four-dimensional framework, digital competence mapping
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