IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOMS

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of digital media on English Language teaching and learning in 21st century classrooms in South-East Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Population comprised 12,500 students and 180 English teachers from public and private secondary schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 600 students and 40 teachers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Impact of Digital Media on English Teaching and Learning Questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.84 using Cronbach Alpha. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions while Chi-square was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 level. Results revealed that YouTube, WhatsApp, mobile apps and virtual classrooms are the dominant digital media used, with grand mean of 3.11. Digital media significantly improved the four language skills with grand mean of 3.14. Teachers were moderately competent with grand mean of 2.61 and faced challenges of poor connectivity and inadequate devices with grand mean of 3.37. All hypotheses were rejected, showing significant impact of digital media on achievement. The study concluded that digital media enhances English learning despite competence and infrastructure gaps. It recommended provision of digital infrastructure and regular TPACK-based teacher training.