PLoS One. 2026 Aug 28;21(8):e0357471. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0357471. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
As learners increasingly use open online resources for informal language learning, YouTube has become an important setting for self-directed English learning. However, less is known about how learners’ motivation, confidence in using YouTube for learning, and perceptions of content quality are associated with behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction in this context. This study examined the associations of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, YouTube learning self-efficacy, and content quality with behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction in YouTube-based informal English learning (YIEL). It also examined whether behavioral engagement statistically mediated the associations of these four constructs with learning satisfaction. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 393 undergraduate students in Taiwan and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). All hypothesized associations were supported, and the model explained 47.6% of the variance in behavioral engagement and 64.7% of the variance in learning satisfaction. Behavioral engagement also statistically mediated the associations between these four constructs and learning satisfaction. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, YouTube learning self-efficacy, and content quality were associated with both behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction, and that behavioral engagement was also associated with learning satisfaction. Together, these findings extend current understanding of YIEL by highlighting behavioral engagement both as an outcome associated with these four focal constructs and as a statistical mediator of their associations with learning satisfaction.
PMID:42664247 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0357471
