Therefore, the results of this study may assist in furthering the understanding of how WeChat can be used to aid Chinese EFL students more effectively in the future. ( 2020: 1814) state there are currently “few studies on the relationship between WeChat and learning from university students’ perspective,” and even fewer studies that focus solely on EFL learning on WeChat in relation to SA students in particular. However, despite the fact that more recent research has been conducted on WeChat, Hou et al. Furthermore, a greater volume of recent research concerning EFL learning has been conducted on WeChat compared with QQ or any other social media app in China (Wang and Crosthwaite 2021 Namaziandost et al. 2018 Li and Zhou 2021), 77% of Internet users used WeChat in the third quarter of 2021, compared with 61.5% who had used QQ (Statista 2022). Moreover, while other Chinese social media apps such as QQ have been analyzed in relation to assisting EFL learning (Lei et al. WeChat was selected for this particular study because it is the largest social media app in China. These figures demonstrate the vast scale of WeChat users, EFL learners, and Internet connectivity within China and, therefore, indicate WeChat’s potential to aid EFL learners if its functions are used accordingly. Meanwhile, there are an estimated 400 million Chinese EFL learners, with College English (CE) being compulsory until the second year of university and English representing a compulsory element of the university entrance exam (Bolton and Graddol 2012 Cheng and Dong 2017). Furthermore, regarding access to technology, in 2018, around 50 percent of the Chinese population used a smartphone, and by the end of 2020, about 989 million people had access to the Internet within China (Thomala 2021). WeChat is China’s largest social media app, with an estimated one billion monthly users. Moreover, it investigates whether Chinese SA students attach symbolic meaning to WeChat as a potential English as a foreign language (EFL) learning tool. This study engages the topic of English proficiency as a performance of digital social capital and aims to understand how the Chinese social media app WeChat impacts English language learning among Chinese study abroad (SA) students in Ireland. Moreover, factors such as filial piety prevented users from performing their English proficiency and fully engaging with WeChat as a learning tool also. It is found that performing high English proficiency on WeChat is associated with negative connotations (bragging) due to links between English level and class background. Qualitative methods of research consisting of semi-structured interviews and a walkthrough of WeChat are carried out which investigates how English learning features are accessed on WeChat and how they ultimately shape learners’ symbolic meanings of WeChat. By deploying a symbolic interactionist approach and conceptualizing an appropriate theoretical framework, this study aims to determine whether students fully engage with WeChat’s symbolic meaning as an English learning tool. It also explores how English proficiency acts as a form of digital social capital in China, with a particular focus on how WeChat acts as a stage from which users can perform their perceived higher-social class. This study investigates how Chinese study abroad students utilize WeChat for the symbolic purpose of English language learning while exploring what particular features of WeChat are beneficial to one’s English learning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |