Students’ Adoption of ICT Tools for Learning English Based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) has advanced significantly over the past few decades, and students now frequently use ICT tools that enable them to learn anywhere and at any time. This study explored the influencing factors of the adoption of ICT tools among Chinese college students to learn English based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse sample data collected from 223 students in Zhaoqing University and Guangdong University of Finance in China. The results revealed that effort expectancy, performance expectancy and social influence exerted significant effect on behavioural intention. In addition, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention are positively and significantly related to use behaviour. The five variables, namely, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention explained 93.4% of the total variance in the ICT tools use behaviour to learn English by Chinese college students, confirming the validity of UTAUT in Chinese higher education context. Finally, some implications were provided to boost the adoption of ICT tools for promoting students’ learning performance.