An Empirical Study of Autonomous Out-of-Class OER Use Behavior of University Students Studying Japanese in China

Abstract

In this study, we created four learner types based on autonomous learning ability, media and information literacy (MIL), and grade level among university students in China who are learning Japanese, to examine the factors affecting their autonomous use of Open Educational Resources (OER) outside of class through a questionnaire survey (valid N = 597). We investigated the impact of three factors, including “Others”, “Design and Quality of the OER”, and “Use Intention”, on three stages of OER usage behavior (planning, performance, and self-reflection) for each learner type. The results showed that all learner types were influenced by “Use Intention,” while those with low autonomous learning ability and MIL were also affected by “Others” and “Design and Quality of the OER”. Regarding the impact on “Use Intention”, “Others” indirectly influenced all learner types through “Design and Quality of the OER”, but a direct influence from “Others” was also observed in learner types belonging to lower grade level. Based on these results, we proposed measures to promote autonomous OER usage behavior.