Reading Literary Classics in the Digital Age among English Majors

Abstract

Background: Digital devices have widened access to literary classics while introducing new possibilities for support and distraction. This study examined literary reading practices, medium preferences, linguistic challenges, and perceptions of digital reading among English majors at one Chinese university. Methods: A cross-sectional online questionnaire yielded 195 valid responses from 203 distributed surveys. The 39-item instrument was reviewed by five experts and revised following a 20-student pilot. Descriptive statistics summarised reported reading practices and digital-reading perceptions; group comparisons used independent-samples t tests and one-way analyses of variance. Results: Most respondents reported reading literary classics once or twice weekly (67.7%) and one or two books monthly (73.8%). Extensive reading was selected more frequently than close reading (72.8% versus 20.5%). Print was the most commonly used medium (54.9%) and was considered the most effective by 71.8%. Translated editions were preferred by 56.9%, whereas 23.6% preferred original English texts. Vocabulary and syntax were the leading reported difficulty (50.8%). Students valued digital access and convenience but also expressed concern about distraction (M = 4.19, SD = 1.02) and advertisements or pop-ups (M = 4.53, SD = 0.77). No significant differences were reported by gender, age, or year of study. An academic-track difference was observed, although subgroup sizes were markeadly unequal. Conclusions: Positive attitudes towards literary reading coexisted with modest reported practices and a continuing preference for print. Combining sustained reading with carefully selected digital resources may provide a useful instructional direction, but the findings are descriptive rather than causal.