Investigation of Chinese Undergraduate English-Major Students’ Use of Online Communication Strategies

Abstract

With the advancement of Information and Communication Technology, online learning has been widely adopted in this post-pandemic era. This study aimed to explore the use of online communication strategies by Chinese undergraduate EFL learners and how they vary according to gender and language proficiency. A mixed-method design was applied. A Questionnaire on Online Communication Strategies was distributed to 262 Chinese undergraduate English major students. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 18 students. This paper only reports the quantitative findings. The quantitative findings revealed that the students were at an intermediate level in using online communication strategies. They reported using sociocultural strategies most frequently, followed by compensatory strategies, focus-on-form strategies, interactional strategies, paralinguistic strategies, and lastly reduction strategies. There were significant differences in Chinese undergraduate EFL learners’ use of online communication strategies in terms of gender and language proficiency. This study provides a reliable and valid instrument to measure online communication strategies. It also provides systematic and comprehensive online communication strategies conducive to effective communication online.