THE CORRELATION BETWEEN EFL STUDENTS' ONLINE LEARNING STRATEGIES AND DIGITAL LITERACY AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AT ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL STUDIES UNIVERSITAS LANCANG KUNING

Abstract

This study is grounded in the growing integration of online learning in higher education, which requires students to possess effective online learning strategies and adequate digital literacy to enhance their English language proficiency. This research aims to investigate the correlation between online learning strategies and digital literacy and English language proficiency among students of the English Education Study Program, Faculty of Education and Vocational Studies, Universitas Lancang Kuning. A quantitative correlational design was employed, involving 94 undergraduate students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ), a digital literacy questionnaire adapted from Ng (2012), and documented English achievement scores. The results of multiple regression analysis show that online learning strategies and digital literacy simultaneously have a statistically significant effect on English language proficiency (F = 5.065, Sig. = 0.008 < 0.05). The correlation between the independent variables and English proficiency is positive but weak (R = 0.316), with an R Square value of 0.100 and an Adjusted R Square of 0.080, indicating that only 8% of the variance in English proficiency is explained by the model. Partially, digital literacy shows a significant effect on English language proficiency (Sig. = 0.003), while online learning strategies do not have a significant partial effect (Sig. = 0.591). These findings suggest that although both variables jointly predict English proficiency significantly, digital literacy plays a more dominant role than online learning strategies when examined individually. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of integrating digital literacy development alongside training in online learning strategies in English language instruction in higher education.