Knowledge Acquisition Determinants and Their Impact on EFL Students’ Perceived Learning Performance with Mediating Effect of Student Satisfaction

Abstract

The perceived learning performance becomes an integral component of a student’s success which reflects how efficiently learners believe that they have acquired knowledge. Knowledge acquisition determinants play an important role in increasing the perceived learning performance through increased satisfaction of the students. Therefore, the study aimed to test the impact of knowledge acquisition determinants on the perceived learning performance of Saudi Arabian EFL students with the mediating effect of satisfaction. Data were collected from 390 EFL students using a purposive sampling technique. The research design was cross-sectional and the research approach was quantitative. The Partial Least Square (PLS)-Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique results show that all knowledge acquisition determinants namely e-learning content, website content, learning expectancy, facilitating conditions, and learning content quality have a positive and significant impact on perceived learning performance. Further indirect effect results also show that satisfaction is partially mediated among all knowledge acquisition determinants and perceived learning performance. The study with these significant findings confirms the importance of knowledge acquisition determinants in enhancing perceived learning performance. Practically, the study also contributed to helping educators and institutions focus on improving to boost student satisfaction, which in turn enhances learning performance. Additionally, enhancing student satisfaction serves as a key mediator, suggesting that educational strategies should address both content and user experience to optimize performance.