ESL Students’ Evaluation of Online Information in Academic English Reading Classrooms

Abstract

In English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom context, the Internet is also part of the learning repertoire as students often refer to online sources to fulfil their academic needs. However, despite the common assumption that the current students are ‘digital natives’, past studies have revealed that Malaysian undergraduates struggled to evaluate the credibility of online information when accessing online reading materials. In fact, it was reported that the execution of information literacy education in Malaysia continues to be a challenge and requires further research. Such revelation points to the current dilemma of the students not possessing the appropriate skills needed as tertiary learners. As such skill is paramount to help them complete their academic reading tasks, the students’ understanding of credible Internet sources is therefore worth investigating. To investigate the undergraduates’ online reading practices in the Malaysian ESL classroom, data was obtained from two local public universities in the Southern state of Malaysia. The quantitative data from the activities conducted suggests that the participants possess limited ability in evaluating the accuracy of online information. Qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews and classroom observations meanwhile provides the evidence of the students’ lack of skills in online information evaluation and their lack of interest to participate in the activities. The findings address the growing concern regarding the need to improve the undergraduates’ competence in assessing the trustworthiness of online sources.