Fostering Media Literacy Skills in the EFL Virtual Classroom: A Case Study in the COVID-19 Lockdown Period

Abstract

This investigation highlights the ways and means of students’ formation of media literacy skills under the conditions of total and emergent distance learning in the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case study involved 138 first-year students from Sumy National Agrarian University, Ukraine, who studied English as a foreign language (EFL). Analysis, synthesis, and generalization of scientific data were conducted to determine the requirements and materials for the survey. Media literacy of the participants in the experimental group was developed through performance of a series of social media projects, critical analysis of social media texts, and creation of social media content. Pedagogical observation and expert estimation were employed to obtain qualitative results of partiucipants’ progress during practical classes and extracurricular activities. Psychological techniques and mathematical methods were employed to measure and assess the quantitative data of the experiment. The outcomes of the study revealed the positive dynamics of the development of reflective-evaluative, collaborative, and searching-creative skills of participants in the experimental group as well as improvement in their English proficiency. The result of this study is potentially appropriate for educators who are interested in the application of media technologies in foreign-language teaching.