Teachers' Perceptions of Digital Language Learning Strategies

Abstract

The last four decades witnessed a plethora of research on language learning strategies (LLS) in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. However, there is a paucity of research on the newly developed digital language learning strategies (DLLS), particularly with reference to teachers' perceptions. For this study, the authors examined the perceptions of university teachers of the importance of DLLS for EFL learners. To this end, they collected data using Kim and Bae's 60-item survey from 52 teachers at a private Egyptian university. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), they removed 10 items from the survey because they revealed unsatisfactory loading numbers toward other variables. The EFA outcomes extracted six factors that described 54.13% of the total variance. In this context, the teachers perceived several cognitive, metacognitive, memory, compensation, affective, and social strategies as extremely important for students. This study calls for the systematic incorporation of the DLLS in the EFL classroom, particularly through explicit intervention. Additionally, it calls for further research on the DLLS for their great significance in our new digital world.