Perceptions of Students Regarding the Adoption of E-Books in the English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroo

The adoption of e-books in the classroom has been a topic of research from different perspectives. While some studies documented the implementation of digital textbooks in K-12 and higher education classrooms, there was no evidence of research related to the introduction and use of e-books in the adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Building upon the task-technology fit (TTF) model and the e-textbook TTF model, this study presents the ESL student perspective of e-book adoption. Through quantitative analysis of survey responses, the study fills the gap in the literature. The study participants were 74 ESL students who were enrolled in an international language school in Southern California. The goal of the research was to understand how students perceived the adoption of e-books in the ESL classroom by analyzing responses from a survey instrument developed by the school. To achieve this goal, the researchers developed the e-book TTF model for the ESL classroom, a modification of the e-textbook TTF model, to test the relationship between perceived TTF on the e-book and the students' perceived levels of satisfaction, ease of use, usefulness, and frequency of study outside the classroom. An independent t test was applied to the four research questions of the study to measure differences in perception between students with and without prior experience using e-books. Additionally, responses to one open-ended question were evaluated through chi-square test. The results indicated that prior experience with e-book technology did not affect the students' perceptions of the adoption of e-books in the ESL classroom.