Author(s)

Zihan Hu

Corresponding Author

Zihan Hu

Abstract

As educational technology becomes available for children, digital learning has become a prevalent way of learning a language. However, previous studies mostly focused on the effectiveness of digital learning on the development of the first language and quantitative method. This paper used a more qualitative method (survey and interview) to examine the perceived effectiveness of digital learning on the development of the second language by children and parents. A sample of 10 groups of ESL (English as Second Language) children and parents from Lanzhou, China, reported that they think digital learning is effective for learning English. Through theme analysis, this study also reveals the perceived benefits and disadvantages of learning English through digital learning. Finally, the educational application of increasing interactive components in digital learning to further improve the effectiveness of it and policy perspective of improving educational equality for students’ color in the U.S. are discussed in this work.

Keywords

Digital leaning, Esl children, Parent