Using Digital Literacy Components to Develop ESL Learners’ Digital Mastery

Abstract

The capacity to locate, assess, and communicate information via keyboards or digital media platforms is known as digital literacy. Utilizing information and communication technology to produce, assess, and distribute information requires a combination of technical and cognitive skills. Some ESL learners are still struggling when they are using the media online to search for articles and journals. In addition, there are still a lot of students that are unsure about how to use digital technology for their education. ESL learners must be proactive and digitally knowledgeable in this age of technology to successfully choose and organize their search results. Without these digital abilities, ESL Malaysian students would not be able to utilize a variety of ICT platforms for information access and processing for academic needs, as well as subsequently for career needs, specifically to fulfil the demands of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0). This study explores the development of digital mastery using the digital literacy components. The study employed a survey research design. An online questionnaire was distributed to ESL learners in a selected university. A cluster sampling was used in selecting the samples. A sample of 186 university students were involved in this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 27 for the questionnaire. In brief, the study contributes to a new model related to digital mastery for ESL students in higher education.