DIGITAL LITERACY AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN ENUGU STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the Digital literacy and language acquisition among university students in Enugu State. Three purposes and three research questions guided the study. The design of this study is a descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 5,201 academic staff in the five federal universities in south-east, Nigeria while the sample size was 100 students selected from four (4) using simple random sampling technique Data were generated with three faced and content validated questionnaire. In order to obtain the reliability of the instrument, the questionnaire were tested using the Cronbach Alpha Reliability which yielded 0.74 as overall index. The data were analysed in tables using mean wherein nominal value was assigned to scaling items. The findings from the study revealed that; students could effectively use digital devices such as computers and smartphones for academic purposes, access information from online sources, utilize online learning platforms, digital literacy improves reading skills through access to e-books, online articles, and academic resources and poor internet connectivity, high cost of data subscriptions, inadequate access to digital devices, irregular power supply. It was revealed that; it was recommended among others that; University management should provide adequate digital infrastructure such as functional computer laboratories, reliable internet connectivity, and well-equipped digital libraries to support students’ language learning and academic activities.