Students’ Acceptance of Web-based Learning Resource for Speaking using Technology Acceptance Model in Secondary Schools

Abstract

Due to the lack of opportunities for real-world practice, secondary school students in rural Malaysia have major challenges in mastering English speaking abilities. This study uses the Technology adoption Model (TAM) to assess students' adoption of "Sunny Speaks!", a web-based learning tool intended to improve speaking ability. 281 Form 4 students from rural schools in Maran, Pahang, who were chosen by purposive sampling to represent pupils with low to intermediate competence, participated in a quantitative survey. Three major constructs were evaluated in the study: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived ease of learning. Overall approval was found to be high (Mean = 4.10), with Perceived Ease of Use scoring highest (Mean = 4.13), followed by Perceived Ease of Learning (Mean = 4.11) and Perceived Usefulness (Mean = 4.07). These findings show that the platform is user-friendly and intuitive for rural students in addition to being pedagogically effective. The study comes to the conclusion that, in non-urban ESL situations, using gamified, easily available web resources is a practical way to promote independent learning and enhance communicative skills.Keywords: Web-based learning, Technology Acceptance Model, English speaking skills, rural education, ESL learners, secondary school, user acceptance.