# Usefulness of Digital Language Resources in Improving Native Language among Adults
## 4 Results and Findings
### RQ3: Effects on Perceived Ease of Using Digital Language Resources  
Similarly, we examined the effects of (a) age, (b) level of education, (c) the self-assessment of proficiency in language use, (d) the number of years that had passed since institutional language training, and (d) the mode of post-institutional language training.  
First, we inspected how age affects the perceived ease of using digital language resources. Again, participants were classified into three age groups as they were in RQ2. The Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed no significant effect of age on the perceived ease of use: \(p>0.05\). Likewise, no significant effect was found of education on perceived ease of using digital language resources: \(p>0.05\).  
Next, we analysed how the self-assessment of proficiency in language use affects the ease of using digital language resources. The Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed a statistically significant difference in perceived ease of use, \(x^{2}\) (2) = 6.24, \(p<0.05\), with a mean rank perceived ease of use 51.75, 44.73, and 28.32 for the groups 1 to 3, respectively. Group 1 included participants who self-assessed their proficiency in language use as less than good, Group 2 included those who think they are good in language use, and Group 3 included those who think they are excellent speakers of the Slovene language. Pairwise comparisons using the Kruskal-Wallis H test (\(p=0.05\)) revealed statistically significant differences between Groups 2 and 3, as well as between Groups 1 and 3. This indicates that excellent language users perceive digital language resources as less easy to use than good language users and those who think that their language use is less than good.  
Moreover, we also investigated if there was an effect in the number of years that had passed since institutional language training. The Kruskal-Wallis H test showed no significant difference in perceived ease of using digital language resources, \(p>0.05\).  
Finally, we analysed the effects of the various modes of post-institutional language training on perceived ease of using digital language resources. The Mann-Whitney U Test revealed no significant effects for any of the various modes of training, \(p>0.05\).  
We sought for reasons for the significant effect of the self-assessment of proficiency in language use on the perceived ease of using digital language resources in the interview findings. Participants most frequently stated that they believed that the following aspects are crucial for feeling self-confident about their language use: The acquired education, experiences, and skills, obtained through writing, reading and speaking, as well as knowing grammar rules. On the contrary, they most frequently stated that feeling a lack of professional language knowledge leads them to feeling less confident about being proficient in language use. When we statistically examined whether they had already self-initiatively used digital language resources before attending the workshop, we did not find any statistically significant effect. Accordingly, the interview findings may help us understand why those who feel less proficient in language use perceive digital language resources as easier to use compared to those who believe they are proficient language users once they got familiar with using digital language resources at the workshop. In line with the definition of perceived ease of use, it may be that less proficient language users found digital language resources more easily as effort free, due to their feeling of a wide range of opportunities for improving various language areas, such as reading, speaking, listening,and writing. The reason might lie in the intersection between their language knowledge and the perception of ease of use [26], where less proficient language users are aware of their lack and are willing to put more effort in order to gain the benefits.