Examining University Students’ Intentions To Adopt Technology In Self-regulated English Learning

Enabling technology has become pervasively adopted among university students for English learning.It provides them with venues and resources to regulate their English learning according to individual learning styles and preferences.Despite the widespread accessibility of technology,university students’ technology use levels are lower than they access.Most of existing research focus on students’ self-regulated English learning behaviors and abilities,however,they have not adequately addressed the paradox of high access but low usage,which might be attributed to(1)the neglected exploration of the mental mechanisms of students’ English learning,such as learning intentions that directly influence learning behavior,(2)the incomplete examination of the factors influencing technology-assisted learning,such as the neglect of technologyrelated elements.Consequently,based on theory of planned behavior(TPB),this study aims to investigate Chinese university students’ technology-assisted self-regulated English learning intention(TA-SRELI)and the factors that influence this intention.The following questions were addressed in this study:(1)What are university students’ intentions of adopting technology in self-regulated English learning?(2)Do their adoptions differ in terms of gender,major or academic year?(3)To what extent does the research model explain university students’ intentions to conduct technologyassisted self-regulated English learning?(4)How do these factors in research model i.e.,learning motivation,metacognition,attitudes toward behavior,subjective norms,perceived behavioral control,and digital literacy,influence their intentions of adoption in self-regulated English learning? This study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods.After collecting 363 valid questionnaires,data was analyzed with SPSS 23.0 software through descriptive analysis,independent sample T test,one-way analysis of variance,confirmatory factor analysis,and then structure model was tested with Amos 23.0 software.Additionally,data from 8 semi-structured interviews was coded and analyzed by three stages,i.e.,open coding,axial coding and selective coding.Results show as follows:(1)University students had a high intention to conduct technology-assisted self-regulated English learning,showing the highest intention of environmental structuring followed by time management,self-evaluation,goal setting,task strategy,and help-seeking,respectively.(2)Results showed no statistically significant gender difference in all domains of TA-SRELI.Results also revealed statistically significant major differences in the domain of help-seeking(HS),with“Science & Engineering” students occupying higher positions than “Humanity &Society”.And it showed significant academic year differences in three domains:environmental structuring,task strategy,and help-seeking.(3)The good fit of the proposed model was tested,with total variance of explanation on TA-SRELI being 85%.Specifically,LM,AB,PBC,and SN had significant influence on TA-SRELI.(4)The findings from qualitative study elucidated the influence of these factors affecting university students’ TA-SRELI.i.e.,Firstly,exam-oriented learning drove environmental structuring.Secondly,metacognition and TA-SRELI were in a symbiotic relationship.Thirdly,perceived behavior control mediated the relationship between self-control and TA-SRELI.Fourthly,the effect of subjective norm on TA-SRELI was characterized by teachers’ scoring based on students’ assignment and perceived peers supports from common learning community.Finally,the level of students’ technical literacy determines the degree of technology using intention.Based on the findings above,this study contributed to deep the academic understanding of the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to technologyenabled language learning,and it proposed corresponding pedagogical suggestions for both students and teachers to enhance technology-assisted self-regulated English learning among university students.