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ELT FORUM 12 (3) (2023) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 

 
http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 

 

Exploring critical digital literacy in a higher education EFL classroom: Teachers’ 

views and practices  

 

Hapsari Mutya Rini1, Salim Nabhan1 
 
1Universitas PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya, Indonesia 

 

Article Info 
________________ 
Article History: 
Received on 29 May 
2023 

Approved on 22 
November 2023 
Published on 30 
November 2023 

________________ 
Keywords: critical 
digital literacy; EFL 
classroom; higher 
education 
____________________ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract 
___________________________________________________________________ 

Critical digital literacy is increasingly an issue in today’s technology-driven world, and it 
has been implanted into the Indonesian higher education curriculum to equip students with 

the ability to critically engage with digital information. Research related to critical digital 
literacy, especially in EFL settings at a higher education level is still under-explored. 

Therefore, in this study, the researchers aimed to explore teachers' views on critical digital 
literacy and their practices in integrating critical digital literacy in EFL classrooms at the 

university level. This research used a qualitative case study approach. The researchers 

collected data from three EFL classroom teachers at one of the universities in Surabaya, 
Indonesia. To validate the data, the researcher used data triangulation, where the data 

were collected from semi-structured interviews, observation, and document reviews. The 
data were then analyzed using thematic analysis. The data revealed two main themes 

including teachers' views on critical digital literacy in EFL classrooms and teachers' 
practices on critical digital literacy in EFL classrooms. Teachers’ views on critical literacy 

in EFL classrooms included their understanding of the critical use of technology, their 

recognition of the importance of students’ critical digital literacy, and the inclusion of 
critical digital literacy in language learning in accordance with technology development. 

Additionally, teachers’ practices of critical digital literacy entail the provision of various 
online materials and platforms, the analysis of the internet sources for students’ digital 

materials, the involvement of multimodal text in the learning process, and the students’ 
identity development in digital media. The findings of the study shed light on the various 

dimensions of critical digital literacy, suggest practical insight on the integration of literacy 

in EFL classrooms, and call for further development on effective instructional approaches 
that support the use of technology that promotes critical digital literacy at the university 

level.

 

  
Correspondence Address: p-ISSN 2252-6706 | e-ISSN 2721-4532 

Universitas PGRI Adi Buana  
Surabaya, Indonesia 
E-mail: salimnabhan@unipasby.ac.id  

http://issn.pdii.lipi.go.id/issn.cgi?daftar&1333515478&1&&
http://issn.pdii.lipi.go.id/issn.cgi?daftar&1576658845&1&&


Hapsari Mutya Rini & Salim Nabhan | ELT Forum 12 (3) (2023) 

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INTRODUCTION 

The development of the 21st century brings changes to various aspects of life. One of the most 

visible changes is the revolution in digital technology. The digital age has dramatically shifted the 

advancement of communication tools and the internet-based information landscape. The users of 

news and information have changed ways, from accessing news at a particular place and time to 

accessing news at a place and time that can suit their desires. The impact of this digital reform has 

caused people to only rely on online information and carry out literacy practices based on online 

digital platforms (Silvhiany et al., 2021). In the Indonesian higher education context, the 

government has implanted the 21st century skills including critical and digital literacy into the newest 

curriculum (Junaidi et al., 2020). Therefore, the study is relevant to explore the university teachers’ 

views and practices of critical digital literacy in higher education level.     

In the area of literacy, the ecology of new media and a globally interconnected world has 

given new definitions of what it means to be literate. Nabhan and Hidayat (2018) explained that in 

the traditional era, literacy was defined as the ability to read and write, however, because the 21st 

century brought advances in technology, literacy has a more complex meaning. Scribner and Cole 

(1981) emphasized that literacy competence does not only consist of the ability to read and write but 

includes the ability to apply knowledge to certain goals and contexts. Because of the ecology of 

literacy, competence that involves knowledge and skills in using digital media, as well as the ability 

to search, identify, evaluate, and use the information obtained is called digital literacy.  

The presence of digital literacy is in line with the special skills that students must have in the 

21st century. Due to the massive expansion of digital media, individuals are required to have special 

skills, namely critical thinking, creativity, communication, problem-solving, technical, and 

information literacy (Van Laar, 2020). Although digital literacy has dimensions for critical thinking, 

this does not guarantee that students have critical abilities in accessing digital media. Several skills 

are needed that must be trained and carried out continuously.  Moreover, in this digital era, many 

teachers want to provide space for students to get to know digital media better through multimedia 

projects and multimodal practices (Sadaf & Johnson, 2017). Especially in the EFL classroom, which 

allows students to understand all cultural and social issues in various countries, they need to be 

equipped with critical thinking in accessing digital media. Therefore, Pangrazio (2016) specialized 

again in the critical understanding of digital media as critical digital literacy. Critical digital literacy 

(CDL) is becoming a field of study that stems from critical literacy and critical media literacy, 

among other fields. Critical digital literacy is not just about developing technology or critical 

thinking skills but is preparing students to live in a digital world. Therefore, critical digital literacy 

plays a role as skills and attitudes needed to access information, analyze various multimodal texts, 

consider information, and create narratives and counter-narratives (Hidayat et al., 2021). 

Several studies have discussed the issues of critical digital literacy in general. Hidayat et al. 

(2021) conducted a study on the understanding and knowledge of EFL students regarding critical 

digital literacy. The results of this study indicated that EFL students were not aware of critical digital 

literacy. Additionally, the results of the relevant study were shown by Silvhiany et al. (2021) 

indicating that students’ critical digital literacies were not sufficient to evaluate and analyze the 

online sources. Martinez (2019) revealed that teachers utilized online sources through discussion 

with their students in the classroom. However, little attention has been given to the investigation of 

teachers’ views and practices of critical digital literacy in an EFL setting particularly in a higher 

education. Therefore, this study aims to explore teachers' views on critical digital literacy and their 

practices in integrating critical digital literacy in the EFL classroom at the university level. 

 

Digital literacy and critical thinking  

According to Hague and Payton (2010), digital literacy is an understanding and knowledge that can 

engage people in critical thinking, creativity, and security awareness when engaging with digital 

technology. In addition, digital literacy is not just a technical skill in operating digital devices but 

also pays attention to technology's critical and wise use. Therefore, Hangue and Payton (2010) 

created eight dimensions of digital literacy in which all dimensions are interrelated: functional skill, 

creativity, critical thinking and evaluation, cultural and social understanding, collaboration, effective 

communication, and e-safety. Technology education that often occurs in schools focuses more on 

technical skills, such as how to use computers and software (Gainer, 2012). Indeed, honing students' 

skills in operating digital technology is one of the core things. However, a critical thinking approach 

is needed to implement skills such as making and consuming multimodal (Share et al., 2014). 



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Critical thinking is a core skill in education, especially at the higher education level. Sulaiman 

et al. (2008) added that the key to professional success in higher education is to prepare students' 

critical thinking skills because it will foster good-quality graduates. Ennis (1993, p.180) provides a 

view of critical thinking skills, in which it generally becomes a set of "ability" and "disposition" but 

critical thinking has never been practiced in a general sense. Therefore, critical thinking must focus 

on something specific to be effective. From the theories put forward by experts, Koh (2002) defined 

that critical thinking involves special skills, desires, and tendencies toward the importance of 

thinking and requires promotion for critical thinking. 

The practice of critical thinking will depend on other dimensions of thinking which include 

the practice of critical reading and writing (Koh, 2002). If critical thinking skills can support the 

professional quality of students in college and can have many opportunities in the future workplace, 

then it must include a conception of thinking that moves away from problem-solving towards critical 

literacy. Teaching critical literacy as a thinking tool can produce active, creative, and critical 

learning. 

 

Critical digital literacy 

Pangrazio (2016) examined critical digital literacy in education, observing three broad approaches: 

(i) a critical literacy approach (i.e. ethical analysis) that focuses on the critical use of digital; (ii) a 

critical media literacy approach that focuses on individuals' personal experiences and (iii) digital 

interface design. Pangrazio (2016) states that it is difficult for any of these three models to fully 

account for the increasing complexity and diversity of practices, especially when applied to teaching 

and learning contexts. Pangrazio (2016) offers a practice that focuses on exploring and expanding 

human interpretive and related processes associated with the use of digital media. Within the 

“critical digital design” framework, techniques for “visualization”, “critical self-reflection”, 

“transcendentalism”, and “interpretation and re-articulation of digital concepts” were used to re-

conceptualize the CDL approach to education.   

Hinrichsen and Coombs (2013) developed critical digital literacy resources that can be 

integrated into the curriculum. However, these five resources are interrelated: 1) Decoding: practical 

and operational engagement. Decoding resources or coding practice involves the ability to parse and 

generate text in different modes such as modes found in videos, games, computers, and social 

media. 2) Meaning-making: narrative complexity in the digital. Making meaning is a process of 

reflection in which the content, style, and purpose of the text as in dialogue are based on the 

experience, knowledge, and previous responses of readers. In this resource, learners need the ability 

to follow and create narratives from a variety of elements. The ability to make good connections 

between new knowledge and existing knowledge is also required. These resources also involve 

students' ability to express goals or intentions, or ideas in digital form. 3) Using: producing and 

consuming digital texts. These resources hone the ability to gather the right information, resources, 

and tools for a particular purpose. This includes the process of requesting, searching, filtering, and 

sharing. A variety of tools such as applications and modalities may be a solution, but students also 

need an understanding of the functions, constraints, and advantages of consuming applications. 4) 

Analysing: becoming discerning practitioners. Learners need to develop skills in assessing and 

selecting digital information. In addition, students must be able to apply critical, ethical, and 

aesthetic perspectives when producing and consuming digital materials. Learners may also need the 

previously referenced decoding skills to trace and trace their origin. 5) Persona: identity issues and 

the digital. In this persona resource, students are directed on how to form a multimodal identity on 

digital online wisely, both personally and in the community. This also requires an awareness of the 

ethical and cultural challenges posed when interacting and cooperating with others via digital. 

 

The practices of critical digital literacy in a language classroom 

Some of the critical digital literacy practices found by researchers are related to the dimensions of 

digital literacy and critical digital literacy initiated by experts. In the findings of Silvhiany (2019), 

educators practice critical digital literacy in reading activities. Educators provide several applications 

to analyze the credibility of information sources that have been read by students for example, 

checking the author's background through LinkedIn, checking claims in articles by comparing them 

with scientific articles, and other features. These activities relate to one of the critical digital literacy 

dimensions, namely 'analysing' which is argued by Hinrichsen and Coombs (2013) that critical 

evaluation is to determine individual authorship. 



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In writing activities, Silvhiany (2019) also provided references to critical digital literacy 

practices by evaluating online information designed by scholars from the Stanford History 

Education Group. The assessment, which includes both paper and electronic versions, measures 

various areas of online resources, such as news analysis on Facebook, news analysis on Twitter, 

evidence evaluation, news search analysis, claims on YouTube analytics, and many other types of 

information from social media sites. Although intended as a tool to assess students' ability to 

evaluate online resources, the assessment can be used as material for teaching critical literacy. 

Critical digital literacy can be integrated into listening activities by reflecting on the use of the 

Internet (Martinez, 2019). The teacher displays several videos, then gives questions to students such 

as, "Listen to the language they are using! How are they speaking? What are they saying? Does this 

feel okay?", "What can you tell others about yourself? Is this person really like they said?”. In this 

way, the teacher promotes reflection on the suitability of various types of media use in daily life and 

encourages children to connect and analyze their emotions concerning media representation. This 

kind of discussion with students about their online communication, and issues related to safety, 

encourages reflection on how digital media are used in daily life, and how the media can be used 

differently (Buckingham, 2015). 

In speaking activities, Martinez (2019) explained that the teacher integrated critical digital 

literacy through critical discussions with students about information sources on the Internet. This 

activity is associated with one of the dimensions developed by Buckingham (2006) namely 

'representation'. The teacher gives an illustration of how to encourage students to question the truth 

of information and think about the author of the message (Martinez, 2019).  Pandya (2018) 

described students' critical digital literacy practices in video speaking activities showing that the 

author invited students to contribute to producing civic media literacy. The results obtained in this 

practice, some students used literal and representative images that match the words they say. 

However, within and throughout the video, students experimented with images by using 

metaphorical images. 

 

METHODS 

This research applied a qualitative case study since this research explored a phenomenon regarding 

the emergence of the field of study related to the development of digital media and critical digital 

literacy that are practiced by several English teachers at the university level. In addition, considering 

the research question formulated in this study, a qualitative case study focused on answering the 

condition or quality and used various sources of evidence to triangulate so that the case can be 

understood clearly (Yin, 2003). 

The data used in this research were qualitative data that were taken from EFL university 

teachers in English Language Education Department, at a private University in Surabaya, East Java, 

Indonesia. There were three teachers who were selected purposively and willing to be the 

respondents of the research. One teacher taught Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) 

subject, and the other two teachers taught the subject of Critical Visual Literature. The selection of 

participants was determined from the considerations of the teachers who have been teaching 

minimum 3 years at the university level and experienced in integrating critical digital literacy in their 

EFL classrooms. In addition, they also run their classrooms using digital media and multimodal 

texts.  

In collecting data, the researchers used interviews, observation, and reviewing documents. 

The data triangulation was involved in order to increase the validity of the study. The researchers 

used semi-structured interviews since they have the flexibility of allowing the interviewer to ask 

unstructured questions and allow the researchers to explore issues related to the topic spontaneously. 

This approach allows open-ended questions to generate unexpected responses (Tod 2006, as cited in 

Ryan et al., 2013). The researchers developed the interviews related to the questions of the research. 

The interviews questions consisted of several questions including their perceptions of critical digital 

literacy and how they implemented the literacy into their EFL classrooms. The interviews were 

delivered in Indonesian language. The Indonesian transcribed data derived from the interviews were 

then translated into English language to be included into the quotations. To get more data, the 

researchers observed the English teachers when teaching a classroom at the university level whether 

during face-to-face class or online classes. The observations were done both face-to-face and online 

since the teachers used hybrid learning. In addition, document reviews were also administered. The 



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documents reviews were in the form of lesson plans used by the teachers in the learning process 

related to the digital literacy integration. 

To analyze the data that had been collected, the researchers utilized use thematic analysis. 

The researchers adapted the steps of Maguire and Delahunt (2017) in doing thematic analysis . The 

first step was recognizing and understanding through reading and rereading the transcript data. In 

the first step, the researchers learned the data obtained from the respondents and selected the 

quotations. The second step was the step to generate the initial code. Coding was the reduction of 

data into meaningful few words in a significant and systematic way. In this step, researchers created 

codes from the selected quotations. The third step was to find a theme. Small data sets allowed 

overlap between the coding stage and the initial theme identification stage. At this stage, the data 

were checked and paired with several themes. In step four, the initial themes identified in stage three 

were reviewed, modified, and developed. The fifth step was the final step in improving the theme, 

identifying the essence contained in the theme. The final, sixth step was writing up the endpoint of 

the research. 

 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 

This research aims to explore how EFL classroom teachers perceived and practiced critical digital 

literacy at the university level. The analysis of the data obtained from the interview, observation, and 

document review revealed two main themes including: 1) teacher's views on critical digital literacy 

and 2) teachers practices of critical digital literacy in EFL classrooms at the university level.  

 

Teacher's views on critical digital literacy in efl classroom 

The results of data analysis regarding EFL teachers’ understanding of critical digital literacy, the 

researchers divided these findings into three sub-themes: 1) teachers' understanding of critical use of 

technology, 2) teachers' recognition of the importance of student's critical digital literacy, and 3) the 

inclusion of critical digital literacy in the language learning in accordance with the technology 

development. 

 

Teacher’s understanding of critical use of technology 

Several respondents defined critical digital literacy as the wise use of technology and utilized digital 

technology critically. This was shown from the responses of teachers 1 and 2:  

Jadi perlu crtical ee apa namanya bagian kritis disitu untuk mengkritisi mana yg baik dan mana yang 

buruk (So critical is needed, well, what's the name, the critical part is there to criticize what is 

good and what is bad) (T1).  

Lantas, ee Critical literacy itu juga berkaitan dengan digital literacy. Sehigga kita harus bisa berfikir 

kritis terhadap pemberdayaan dan juga penggunaan teknologi digital (So, citical literacy is also 

related to digital literacy, so we must be able to think critically about empowerment and also 

use of digital technology) (T2).  

Another response defined critical digital literacy as a student's ability to designed English 

skills that were integrated in digital media:  

Kemampuan mereka gimana caranya mengemas. Kalau kita kan bahasa inggris ya, jadi mengemas 

semua ini, baik itu skill, bahasa skill, kemudian komponen nya menjadi sebuah kalau bisa dibilang apa 

ya, menggunakan teknologi, pastinya menggunakan teknologi... (Their ability how to design. If we 

speak English, yes, so we design all of this, be it skills, language skills, then the components 

become one thing, if you can say what it is, using technology, definitely using technology ...) 

(T3). 

From the statements given by the respondents, critical digital literacy was defined as the 

ability to think critically about the use of technology and the ability to design certain components in 

the form of digital media. 

 

 



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Teacher’s recognition of the importance of students’ critical digital literacy 

Regarding the importance of critical digital literacy in the learning process, several respondents 

showed their awareness of the importance of implementing critical digital literacy. The critical role 

of digital literacy made students independent learners, as explained by one of the teachers: 

Nah, dengan adanya critical digital literacy ini diharapkan ketika mereka faham apa yang harus mereka 

lakukan itu akan lebih baik. Karena kuatirnya ketika mereka itu ketika belajar nya di luar kelas, seperti 

itu kan tanpa kontrol langsung dari dosennya, atau mungkin dari gurunya untuk siswa.  Itu kalau 

mereka tidak dibekali critical digital literacy, itu kan lumayan membahayakan, sehingga ketika nanti 

mereka tahu, atau mereka memahami terkait critical digital literacy, nanti ketika mereka belajar sendiri  

di luar, itu lebih aman karena segi keamanan itu juga salah satu yang menjadi prioritas dalam 

pembelajaran. (So, with critical digital literacy, it is hoped that when they understand what they 

have to do it to be better. Because the worry is when they study outside the classroom, it's like 

that without direct control from the lecturer, or maybe from the teacher for the students. That 

is, if they are not equipped with critical digital literacy, that's quite dangerous, so that later 

when they know, or they understand about critical digital literacy, later when they study on 

their own outside, it's safer because in terms of security it is also one of the priorities in 

learning. (T1) 

Focusing on students' abilities to utilize the digital world, another teacher explained that 

critical digital literacy helped students to be more selective in consuming digital media online. 

Moreover, considering as future teachers, students were required to promote using digital media 

wisely. 

Pentingya CDL itu adalah membuat kita lebih waspada, lebih bisa selektif, terhadap informasi, terhadap 

apapun yang telah didistribusikan atau disumbangkan,atau  diberikan oleh dunia digital terhadap kita 

... saya berharap mahasiswa pendidikan bahasa inggris yang merupakan calon guru bahasa inggris 

memiliki wawasan kompetitif untuk berpikir kritis karena mereka adalah calon guru .. calon guru 

bukanlah orang yang memberikan doktrin, tapi membuka pikiran siswanya sehingga mereka harus tau 

cara menggunakan sosial media, cara menggunakan media digital yang bijak yang bisa bermanfaat dan 

dapat berguna bagi siswanya nanti. Itu harapan saya. Karna sekali lagi, berpikir kritis ee dalam dunia 

digital itu adalah hal yang sangat crucial dan mereka adalah jembatan untuk meluaskan CDL itu 

sendiri. (So, the importance of CDL is to make us more alert, more selective, to information, to 

anything that has been distributed or donated, or given to us by the digital world... I hope that 

English language education students who are prospective English teachers have competitive 

insights to think critically because they are prospective teachers. Prospective teachers are not 

people who provide doctrine but open the minds of their students, so that they must know how 

to use social media, how to use digital media wisely which can be useful and can be useful for 

their students later. That's my hope. Because once again, critical thinking in the digital world is 

very crucial and they are a bridge to expand the CDL itself) (T2). 

On the other hand, critical digital literacy was also able to train students' higher order 

thinking skills in criticizing the material being discussed as explained by another teacher in the 

interview:  

Di sekolah-sekolah itu sekarang sudah harus harus higher order thinking skills itu harus..  kita sebagai 

dosen harus bisa ee gimana caranya itu.. itu mahasiswa bisa bisa kritis terhadap materi, terhadap materi 

yang akan kita bahas gitu. (In schools now, they have to have higher order thinking skills... we 

as lecturers have to be able to do that... how can students do that? critical of the material, of 

the material that we will discuss) (T3). 

From the above statements, the respondents emphasized that the importance of implementing 

critical digital literacy did not only affect students' ability to select everything in digital media, but 

also trained students' higher-order thinking skills so that students can learn independently outside 

the classroom.  

 



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The inclusion of critical digital literacy n the language learning in accordance with the technology 

development 

The application of critical digital literacy in the learning process certainly adjusted between material 

needs and also developing technology. In this finding, critical digital literacy can be applied in all 

materials or courses, considering that technological developments in the world of education can 

make the learning process more interesting, as explained by the teacher:  

 
Jadi apapun bentuk mata kuliahnya, apapun bentuk pelajarannya, saya kira diiringi dengan 

perkembangan teknologi itu akan lebih menarik ya... shg ketika kita menggunakan media digital, ya 

pasti akan dibarengi dengan critical digital literacy itu tadi, gitu. (So whatever the form of the course, 

whatever the form of the lesson, I think accompanied by technological developments it will be 

more interesting... so I'm sure when teaching using digital media is interesting, so when we use 

digital media, yes, it will be accompanied by critical digital literacy, like that) (T1) 

 

Likewise, Teacher 3 argued that critical digital literacy can be applied to every subject. 

 
Jadi setiap pertemuan, sebelum kita ketemu, mereka itu sudah membaca. Mereka sudah mencari tau ee 

entah itu dari bahan saya, ini loh saya punya link.. contoh nya gitu. Ini loh, saya punya materi di 

bambozel, saya punya materi di kahoot dan sebagainya, baca.. jadi ketika kelas, langsung gimana 

kerjaanmu? langsung diskusi dan lain sebagainya gitu. (So every meeting, before we met, they had 

already read it. They've already found out whether it's from my material, here I have a link... 

an example like that. Here you go, I have material in bambozel, I have material in kahoot and 

so on, read it.. so during class, immediately "how is your work?" direct discussions and so on) 

(T2). 

 

From the explanations given by the teacher, it can be seen that critical digital literacy can be 

implemented in every lesson or every course that uses technology, especially internet-based 

technology.  

 

Teacher's practices of critical digital literacy in efl classroom 

The results related to the practices of critical digital literacy are classified into four sub-themes, 

including: 1) providing various online materials and platforms, 2) analyzing the internet sources for 

students’ digital materials, 3) the involvement of multimodal text in the learning process, and 4) 

building students’ identity on digital media. 

 

Providing various online materials and platforms 

In promoting critical digital literacy, the main things that teachers did were providing some online 

digital resources and platforms, as explained by several teachers in recommending students to be 

assisted in doing assignments:  

 
Misal nih, kita mau paraphrase ... sekarang itu sudah ada artificial intelligence yang membantu kita. 

Nah seperti itu, kalau mau cari ya salah satunya di sebutkan dengankata, miisal dengan Quilbot, 

dengan parahraser, gitu ya.  (For example, if we want to paraphrase ... Now there is artificial 

intelligence that can help us. So, like that, if you want to search, yes one of them is mentioned 

with the word, for example with Quilbot, paraphraser, that's how it is. That I'm sure they are 

easy to find with those keywords) (T1) 

 

Furthermore, one teacher also facilitated online digital platforms for the continuity of the 

learning process. A teacher stated:  

 
Jadi mungkin selain hal  itu seperti penggunaan LMS juga jadi kalau materi-materi yang terkait 

mungkin ehh.. perlu referensi biasanya saya berikan referensinya di materi tersebut trus saya upload di 

LMS seperti itu (So maybe other than that, like using an LMS too, so if related materials might 

need references, I usually give references to the material, then I upload it on the LMS like that) 

(T1).   



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In supporting students to always be creative in digital online, another teacher provides 

assignments to work on digital platforms, as the following statement:  

 
E-story, E-story gitu.. jadi kita dengan bebasnya membuat story disitu, kayak buku gitu, e-book.. 

storyjumper nah kita kan bebas ya disitu.. ada apa itu namanya gambar-gambar dan sebagainya.. kan 

bebas.. pernah juga pakai quizizz, kahoot, banyak banget (E-story, E-story like that.. so we freely 

make stories there, like books like that, e-books.. storyjumper, so we're free right there.. there 

are pictures and so on.. it's free.. have you ever used quizizz, kahoot, many more) (T3).  

 

In addition, the result was also supported with the document review of the teachers’ lesson 

plan indicating that teacher provided several online materials and platforms online digital. In this 

case, it can be seen that in the scope of education, various digital platforms are needed to create 

creative and innovative learning, as to make it easier for students to complete their assignments. 

 

Analyzing the Internet Sources for Students’ Digital Materials 

Considering that everything contained in the digital world is not always trusted, the teacher also 

taught their students how to evaluate sources of information. The following is the teachers’ response: 

 
Kalau di aplikasi misalnya ini ratingnya berapa itukan keliatan selain itu dari review kan keliatan, itu 

mungkin perlu disampaikan kalau reviewnya  nah dibaca kalau reviewnya ndak baik yaa.. cari yang lain 

gitu.. kalau di web sendiri itu sebetulnya kalau penilaiannya karna dari jumlah kunjungan juga terlihat 

yang pertama, yang kedua ketika posisinya yang di atas biasanya dia banyak yang akses gitu (in an 

application, for example, what's the rating, you can see that apart from the review, it looks like 

it might need to be conveyed read the review, if the review isn't good... look for something 

else... on the web itself, actually the rating is because of the number of the visitors was also 

seen, the second when the position above usually has a lot of access like that..) (T1). 

Focusing on writing about research and articles that are trusted and have high value, teachers 

also told students how to assess a source can be used as a credible reference. A teacher stated:  

 Kalau jurnal bagaimana? Kita punya semuanya patokan patokan nya misal kalau di internasional kita 

mengenal adanya scopus, di indonesia kita mengenal namanya sinta, sehingga ketika nanti kita menulis 

itu kalau bisa ya cari jurnal-jurnal yang terbitannya yang ter-akreditas (how about a journal? We 

have all the benchmarks, for example internationally we know Scopus, in Indonesia we know 

Sinta, so when we write later, if possible, look for journals whose publications are accredited) 

(T1).  

Another teacher responded:  

Secara garis besar, saya memberikan wawasan tentang ee website yang sangat berguna ee untuk mereka, 

terutama websiite sperti ee apa itu, saya lupa, sci-hub, nah itu, dan juga misalnya library genesis, lib-gen 

itu ya, ya, atau juga book finder dan sebagainya itu. (in general, I gave some insight about the 

website which is very useful for them, especially websites like Sci-hub, well that, and also for 

example Library Genesis, Lib-gen, or also Book Finder and so on (T2).  

Additionaly, it is supported by other teacher statement:  

Kalau mau cari sumber, mungkin cari artikel atau apa.. itu ee.. coba  ee ke ini, ya kalau lower nya ke 

google scholar lah tapi kalau lebih high mungkin ke research gate.. kayak gitu.. itu di awal sudah saya 

jelskan.. ee kemudian di.. di ee ERIC, terus di Garuda, itu terus kan ada banyak.. banyak sekali.. apalagi 

yang scopus-scopus itu. (if you want to find a source, maybe look for an article or something.. 

that's um.. try this, ok if it's lower, go to Google Scholar, but if it's higher, maybe go to the 

ResearchGate ... I explained that earlier. um, then... Eric, then Garuda, there's still a lot... lots 

of them... especially the Scopus ones) (T3). 



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224 

 

Based on the explanations by the teachers, it can be seen that in higher education, students 

needed more guidance on how to find credible and trusted sources, so that students are assisted in 

completing their writing. 

 

The involvement of multimodal text in the learning process 

Not only teaching students how to utilize digital media wisely, but also teachers encouraged 

students to produce creativity by involving multimodal elements on digital platforms. The teacher 

stated: 
Mata kuliah literatur saya juga meminta untuk membuat film pendek yang mana sebelumnya merka 

menjadikannya sebagai suatu naskah kemudian dituangkan dalam film pendek saya membantu mereka 

untuk menyeleksi naskahnya membantu mereka untuk mempercantik alur ceritaya dan juga 

mempertajam konflik yang ada didalamnya, jadi saya sempet membimbing mereka tapi kalau untuk 

urusan editing vidio dan sebagainya itu mereka sudah memiliki kompetensi itu. (in literature courses I 

also asked to make a short film which before they made it as a script then poured it into a 

short film. I helped them to select the script helped them to beautify the storyline and also 

sharpened the conflicts in it, so I was able to guide them, but when it comes to video editing 

and so on, they already have that competence) (T2). 

Aiming for students to be able to utilize and involve social media in the learning process, the 

teacher gave assignments related to the material being studied and then uploaded them on social 

media platforms. The teachers responded:  

Jadi di kelas tourism ini ssaya minta mereka untuk membuat instagram kan, membuat instagram 

tentang travel agency nya mereka.. gitu. Jadi mereka harus mengisi instagramnya itu dengan ee 

postingan-postingan, dan pastinya gambar juga.  (So in this tourism class, I asked them to make an 

Instagram, right? Make an Instagram about their travel agency... that's it. So they have to fill 

their Instagram with posts and of course pictures too) (T3).  

Moreover, based on the observation, it was showed that the teacher involved multimodal 

texts by facilitating students in making portfolio designs related to the material being discussed. In 

this practice, the teacher provided critical digital literacy by giving assignments or encouraging 

students to be creative with multimodal text elements. In addition, the teacher also encouraged 

students to utilize student social media as a learning platform. 

 

Building students’ identity on digital media 

Being wise in consuming and producing digital media is also necessary, not only because students 

can sort and find sources of information to support the learning process, but critical digital literacy is 

also present so that students can form a good identity in the digital world, especially in social media. 

T1 provided a reason why students must be wise in publishing everything on digital platforms, 

which greatly influences the assessment when students take part in selection at a corporate agency. 

Sekarang sistemnya HRD minta apa, sosial medianya apa, dan disitu akan dilihat track record nya 

seperti apa di sosial media ... saya sampaikan menggunakan LinkedIn, mereka saya minta untuk 

mengumpulkan semua ee aktivitas terkait akademik di situ, supaya nanti ketika kita melamar kerjaa itu 

salah satu sosial media yang kita bagikan itu, mungkin kita punya instagram, tapi instagram kita 

mungkin begejekan, ya nggak usah dibagikan, LinkedIn nya aja yang dibagikan. Tapi, ee sejauh ini saya 

sampaikan sosial media dirawat dengan baik, maksudnya dirawat dengan baik itu ya diisi dengan hal-

hal yang postif ... dan itu akan mepresentasikan siapa diri kita, seperti itu. (Now what is the HRD 

system asking for, what is your social media, and there you will see what the track record is 

like on social media... I conveyed it using LinkedIn, I asked them to collect all academic-

related activities there, so that later when we apply for jobs That's one of the social media that 

we share, maybe we have Instagram, but our Instagram might be ridiculed, so don't share it, 

just share LinkedIn. But, uh, so far I've said that social media is well cared for, meaning it's 

well cared for, yes it's filled with positive things... and that will represent who we are, like that) 

(T1). 



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Focusing on the use of social media, T2 explained the importance of paying attention when 

uploading something on student social media. 

Yang saya bahas dimata kuliah kreatif writing dan industry menjadi bijak di sosisal media itu krusial 

karna apa sosial media itu adalah ruang publik yang selalu saya sampaikan, jadi sosial media akun yang 

anada miliki memang pribadi milik anda tapi ketika akun itu sudah anda lemparkan ke sosial media 

maka itu bisa dikonsumsi oleh publik sehingga anda harus bisa memisahkan antara urusan pribadi 

dengan urusan publik, tunjukan kreasi kalian daripada urusan personal ... penting untuk menjadi 

dewasa dengan cara menseleksi apa yang kita posting dan apa yang seharusnya kita posting dan apa 

yang seharusnya tidak kita posting.  (What I discussed in creative writing and industry courses, 

being wise in social media is crucial because what social media is a public space that I always 

convey, so the social media account that you have is privately yours but when you throw that 

account on social media then it can be consumed by the public so you have to be able to 

separate between private affairs and public matters, show your creations rather than personal 

matters ... it is important to be mature by selecting what we post and what we should post and 

what we should not post) (T2). 

In addition, the result of the observation revealed the practices of teachers in promoting 

selective use of social media and explaining the impacts of social media, one of which was that 

social media can brand identity, whether it's good or bad. Integrating critical digital literacy can be 

in the form of teaching students to form a good identity by guiding students to always pay attention 

and select what should and should not be published. 

 

Discussion 

Teacher's views on critical digital literacy in efl classroom 

The results of the research show general views, from teachers defining critical digital literacy to the 

importance of critical digital literacy to be applied to the learning process. Several teachers have 

elaborated on their views on critical digital literacy. Not only regarding the ability to use technology, 

but critical digital literacy is also a competency in using digital media by being critical in assessing 

the good and bad things about the empowerment and use of digital technology. As stated by 

Pangrazio (2016), critical digital literacy requires rethinking digital practices. Other teachers defined 

critical digital literacy as an extraordinary ability to package various components in the digital 

world. Moreover, Avila and Pandya (2013) defined critical digital literacy as abilities and practices 

that can lead users to be creative with digital technology and integrate digital multimedia text. 

After defining critical digital literacy, teachers realized the influence of critical digital literacy 

will have a very important impact on the learning process. This is in line with the results of research 

conducted by Armanda and Yosintha (2022) which show the results of teachers' views regarding the 

importance of critical digital literacy considering the increase in internet use which has both positive 

and negative sides. Thus, after integrating a critical digital literacy approach during the learning 

process, teachers expect students to be able to consume and produce everything in the digital world 

wisely and independently. 

In integrating a critical digital literacy approach, in which technology becomes an 

intermediary so that its application can be well understood by students. Some teachers stated that it 

was undeniable that every type of learning always involved technology. Because basically, the use of 

technology in the learning process will make learning more interesting and meaningful. As stated by 

Brown and Lee (2015), the use of various technologies is an invaluable tool for teachers and 

language learners. This is also in line with the results of research conducted by Aleayoglu et. al., 

(2008) that provide technological implications for educational practice, one of which is that teachers 

need to combine technology that is appropriate to the course and digital material pedagogy. 

 

Teacher's practices of critical digital literacy in efl classroom 

Meanwhile, in integrating critical digital literacy, teachers practiced critical digital literacy by 

providing internet resources and digital platforms, selecting good and credible sources, involving 

multimodal texts, and encouraging students to form a good identity in the digital world. Teachers 

practiced critical digital literacy which is related to several frameworks developed by Hinrichsen and 

Coombs (2013). As demonstrated by teachers in the interview results, teachers provided a critical 



Hapsari Mutya Rini & Salim Nabhan | ELT Forum 12 (3) (2023) 

226 

 

digital literacy approach by providing online digital resources and platforms. Related to a framework 

called "using", this practice is intended to use or utilize digital in an appropriate, effective, and 

innovative manner. As well as providing online resources such as Quilbot to assist students in 

paraphrasing writings and provided English government websites that aim to find credible 

information so that students can carry out their assignments in English Tourism courses properly. In 

addition, the teacher also provided digital platforms such as Story Jumper which is a place for 

students to be creative freely. This is also in line with the findings of research conducted by Silvhiany 

(2019) in which teachers provide websites such as LibGuide to assist students in selecting 

information sources found on digital online. 

Besides providing online digital resources and platforms, teachers also taught students how to 

analyze whether these resources were suitable for supporting the student learning process. This 

practice is related to Hinrichsen and Coombs’s (2013) framework, namely "Analysing". One of the 

teachers told me how to assess reliable sources of information through the "Review" feature. 

Focusing on sources that can assist students in finding credible references, teachers provide 

recommendations for journals that have been accredited by Sinta or Scopus, such as Research Get, 

ERIC, and Lib-Gen. This finding is also in line with the results of research conducted by Rinekso et 

al., (2021) indicating that students access credible journals in finding reference sources. Meanwhile, 

another study by Martinez (2019) revealed that teachers analyzed online sources through discussion 

on the veracity of information online with their students. 

Critical digital literacy also involves the practice of producing multimodal text elements 

which are contained in the framework made by Hinrichsen and Coombs (2013), namely "using". 

The teacher encouraged students to produce multimodal text elements on digital media. In this case, 

the teacher also involved collaborative aspects between students. Such as activities in making a short 

film that requires creativity and collaboration from several students.  In addition, the teacher also 

encourages students to take advantage of student social media. Another study conducted by Pandya 

(2018) revealed the way teachers practice critical digital literacy by giving their students a project in 

the form of making a video about students’ life stories. 

How students produced things in digital media was also a discussion in critical digital 

literacy. Based on Hinrichsen and Coombs’s (2013) framework called "Persona". This framework 

discusses how students build their identities well in digital media. This can affect an individual or 

group's identity value in the digital world. Therefore, students must pay attention to what they share 

on digital media. Teachers lead students to always share positive things such as being creative and 

not being too personal. Pangrazio (2016) also added that critical digital literacy has emerged which 

seeks to explore individual personal experiences. In this regard, Potter and Banaji (2012) suggested 

the theory of self-curatorship to understand the production and representation of identity through 

digital media.  

 

CONCLUSION 

This research has explored teachers' views on critical digital literacy, as well as how teachers 

integrated critical digital literacy in EFL classrooms at the university level. The results show that 

teachers perceived critical digital literacy as students' ability to use technology critically, which can 

select reliable resources in digital media. Thus, teachers assumed that a critical digital literacy 

approach made students more selective in using digital media so that students were able to become 

independent learners. Integrating critical digital literacy required technology as an intermediary. 

Teachers thought that it was very possible if the critical digital literacy approach was applied in all 

courses, considering that technology in education was increasingly developing and attractive. In 

integrating critical digital literacy competencies, teachers had several ways to implement them in the 

learning process in EFL classrooms, including providing various sources and internet platforms that 

can support and assist students during the learning process, analyzing credible and trusted sources of 

information and references, and encouraging students to produce creativity from multimodal text 

elements. Moreover, teachers also taught students awareness of the identities they formed in the 

digital world. In addition, Future studies are suggested to explore the application of the critical 

digital literacy approach in more specific language competencies in EFL classrooms.  

 

FUNDING STATEMENT 

This research project was conducted without any financial support from any funding institutions or 

agencies. 



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227 

 

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