Undergraduate students’ perceptions of using videoconferencing for EFL learning: Evidence from Tencent Meeting application

Abstract

This paper examined Chinese undergraduate students' perceptions of using videoconferencing in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected among 348 Chinese university students who attended sixteen-week learning of Integrated English Course through Tencent Meeting, the most widely used videoconferencing application in China. We adopted voluntary response sampling method in this cross-sectional study. Students completed an online survey on “Wenjuanxing”, China's biggest online questionnaire distribution platform. A structural equation model (SEM) was constructed and analyses revealed that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were significant predictors of students' satisfaction and participation intention. Students' computer self-efficacy had a positive effect on their perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and participation intention while their frequency of using videoconferencing did not influence these variables. This study contributes to the existing literature on the acceptance of videoconferencing in the context of EFL learning and offers insights for developing up-to-date videoconferencing teaching strategies.

Keywords

• Computer-mediated communication (CMC)
• Videoconferencing
• Technology acceptance model
• EFL learning
• The COVID-19 pandemic