Unpacking the Experience of Digital Burnout Among University Students Taking English Courses

Abstract

This chapter uses a qualitative approach to provide an in-depth examination of the experience of digital burnout. Doing this would complement existing discussion on burnout, which has typically been done through quantitative means. To this end, this chapter will examine digital burnout in a setting where English is used as a foreign language. Purposive sampling was utilized to recruit participants who reported negative experiences when taking online classes during the pandemic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which were subsequently discussed based on constructs associated with academic burnout, namely being fatigued, feeling ineffective, and cynical. Findings indicate that a prominent factor that was common to the participants was their teachers' lack of competencies in managing an online learning environment, which instigated negative feelings associated with burnout. This indicates that digital burnout may stem from teaching and learning activities done online, and not necessarily a burnout from the use of digital tools or platforms.