scholarly journals Attitude towards Mobile Learning in English Language Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cemil Yurdagül ◽  
Saba Öz

Mobile devices, especially smart phones, are the most frequently used technological devices for daily routines. Mobile devices can be used for various purposes to meet different needs. Since education is a core requirement for human beings, smart phones are being integrated into education. However, it remains to be seen whether they have an impact on learning or not. Consequently, integration of these technologies, or “mobile learning”, has become a popular research study in the field of instructional technology. It is important to investigate the impact of smart phones in language education since students today use them frequently. This attitudinal study aims to investigate the attitude of students in higher education towards smart phone use in the context of foreign language learning. In particular, it gathers information about how smart phones are used for language learning. Participants of the study were 294 prep school students from a well-known university in Turkey. Descriptive study was selected as a research method and mixed-method was the research design for the study. The findings of the study showed that participants care about instant and easy access to information in language learning. In addition to drawing attention to the ease of information access, participants provided suggestions about future applications of smartphones in language learning.

Author(s):  
Barbara Schmenk

Book reviews reflect the views and opinions of the respective reviewers and do not necessarily represent the position of SCENARIO. Helga Tschurtschenthaler’s study is one of the most important scholarly contributions in recent years to the field of drama-based foreign language teaching. She conducted her research in an EFL class in an upper secondary school in multilingual South Tyrol and presents a plethora of data that demonstrates the impact of drama in foreign language education on students’ sense of self as emerging multilingual subjects (Kramsch 2009). What stands out about this study, besides its detailed presentation and analysis of student data, is the fact that Tschurtschenthaler succeeds in connecting recent theoretical contributions to the fields of language education and identity to more practical considerations. Overcoming the gap between theory and practice in this domain is one of her signal achievements. “You are not you when you speak Italian. It’s as if you become someone else when you change into Italian. You don’t only sound different, but you even behave differently. Then, you’re not the person I know.” (11) These are the opening lines of the book, leading the reader directly to its main subject. Tschurtschenthaler explains that it was a ...


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Kacetl ◽  
Blanka Klímová

At present, hardly any younger person can imagine life without mobile technologies. They use them on a daily basis, including in language learning. Such learning supported with mobile devices is called mobile learning, which seems beneficial especially thanks to the unique features of mobile applications (e.g., interactivity, ubiquity, and portability) and teachers’ encouragement and feedback. The purpose of this review study is to explore original, peer-reviewed English studies from 2015 to April 2019 and to determine whether mobile applications used in the learning of English as a foreign language are beneficial and/or effective. The methods are based on a literature review of available sources found on the research topic in two acknowledged databases: Web of Science and Scopus. Altogether, 16 original journal studies on the research topic were detected. The results reveal that mobile learning is becoming a salient feature of education as it is a great opportunity for foreign language learning. Its key benefits are as follows: the enhancement of the learner’s cognitive capacity, the learner’s motivation to study in both formal and informal settings, the learner’s autonomy and confidence, as well as the promotion of personalized learning, helping low-achieving students to reach their study goals. Although mobile learning seems to be effective overall, it is desirable to design, plan and implement it with caution, according to students’ needs, and to deliver multiple language skills in authentic learning environments.


2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen W. Glisan

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (SFLL) (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project [NSFLEP]), originally published in 1996, were envisioned by many as the panacea for providing a new and exciting direction for foreign language education in the United States. The perceived impact of these National K-16 Student Standards has been witnessed throughout more than a decade by scholarly works that have acknowledged their role as ‘a veritable change agent’ (Sharpley-Whiting 1999: 84), ‘a vision for foreign language education in the new century’ (Allen 2002: 518), and, more recently, as ‘a blueprint and framework for change’ (Terry 2009: 17). The research that has been done on the Standards since their inception has attempted to provide concrete ways for the field to embrace this new framework and thereby realize a Standards-based curriculum and perhaps even revolutionize language education. This work has consisted largely of (1) implementational research (both with and without experimental design) that proposes specific strategies for addressing the Standards in planning, teaching, and assessment (Schwartz & Kavanaugh 1997; Abbott & Lear 2010); (2) survey research that analyzes self-reported information regarding teachers' pedagogical beliefs about the Standards and ways in which they claim to be addressing Standards in their classrooms (Allen 2002; ACTFL 2011), and (3) White papers that disseminate opinions and insights by leaders in the field regarding the impact that the Standards are having in areas such as language instruction, curriculum and course design, and educational policy (Sharpley-Whiting 1999; Donato 2009; Glisan 2010).


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-321
Author(s):  
Mariia Viktorovna Drygina

In our modern world mobile devices play an important role in the learning process and provide more opportunities for access to educational resources. The use of mobile devices in the learning process is a promising direction that attracts researchers all over the world. Although mobile devices are widely used and they are accessible means of studying, they are still not perceived as means of foreign language learning. The use of mobile technologies will make it possible not only to induce the learning process visibility, divisiveness and interaction, but also to improve the quality of education, and to expand the possibilities for both students and teachers. The paper presents a systematic review of resources on the problem of mobile assisted language learning. The results of the research have shown that this method is widely used by researchers in Scandinavian countries. The classification has been made on the basis of the existing concept of mobile learning. In addition, the paper describes main technical, pedagogical and psychosocial factors which influence the development of modern resources for mobile learning of foreign languages.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-195
Author(s):  
Alba Milena Flórez González

This action research study sought to incorporate students’ local identity as the set of traditions, language, history and norms of conduct as a potential element to enhance the foreign language learning process. The purpose of this study was to strengthen local cultural identity in high school students, facilitating a meaningful foreign language learning process and promoting the active participation of students in their local communities (Sharkey, Clavijo, & Ramirez, 2016), through inter-generational dialogue. The research questions proposed were: a) what were the perceptions students had about their local identity? and b) how did high school students strengthen their identity by writing chronicles in English class about their family history? Findings posit the impact of the study on students’ perception about their local identity, how they proudly identify themselves as Villanuevas (people from Villanueva), their active involvement in the community by fostering an intergenerational communication, the improvement on the students’ L2 competence as well as the impact of the sutdy on the researcher teaching process and its cross curricular influence. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Dinar Ayu Asyifah ◽  
Lilia Indriani

 Technological developments are very beneficial for foreign language learning, even for teachers and students themselves. One of them is the podcast media which has proven to be an easy-to-use and effective means of learning English. The research sample was taken from 30 high school students in Indonesia by using a questionnaire to explore students' perceptions about learning to listen to foreign languages ​​using podcasts. The data collection of this research uses descriptive techniques, namely describing and explaining a phenomenon or case study in schools. Most of the students taken from the questionnaire strongly agreed that podcasts are something that is effective in helping improve listening skills because they are considered to have interesting and fun features that stimulate student enthusiasm and motivate students to continue learning. However, podcasts can prove to be a tool to improve students' listening skills in EFL classes and students recommend teachers to use this media.


Author(s):  
Aubrey Statti ◽  
Kelly M. Torres

The following chapter will discuss the impact of technology use and mobile learning, specifically augmented reality (AR), in the process of learning a second or foreign language, namely English and Spanish. The chapter will begin with an overview of AR and then include a discussion of the theoretical framework, language learning contexts, as well as AR tools and applications in the process of second or foreign language learning. An overview of the benefits of AR in language learning will also be included, as well as an introduction to AR applications and specific AR systems, platforms, and case studies in language learning. The research will also provide a discussion of the challenges of using AR in language learning contexts, including specific attention to challenges with AR and learning, AR and language learning, and mobile learning as a whole. The chapter will conclude with final thoughts from the authors in terms of potential areas of AR development that are in need of further attention.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Skrypnyk

The article is devoted to the analysis of the methods of mobile learning in relation to foreign language learning in institutions of higher education and systematization of their practical use. Despite the fact that mobile devices with internet access are becoming more and more widespread among students and teachers, mobile learning, in foreign language learning in particular, is not common in non-linguistic institutions of higher education nowadays. The concepts of «mobile learning», «mobile technologies» have been described. Mobile learning of a foreign language should be understood as a form of learning process organization and control based on the use of mobile communication devices, where students can develop and improve their language skills, form socio-cultural and intercultural competences in order to use a foreign language as a means of communication in the social and professional sphere anywhere and at any time. Mobile technologies involve the use of mobile devices, access to training aids, forms of educational interaction and forms of training materials and tasks. The didactic possibilities of mobile technologies have been considered. They include accessibility by means of mobile devices; the possibility of storing and transmitting information of various formats; the possibility to post comments or make changes to the content; possibility of using them as information resources; the possibility of organizing a network discussion; the possibility to perform group and individual projects. The didactic and methodical functions of mobile technologies when learning foreign language have been presented. The requirements to mobile learning programs and advantages of their using have been covered. The disadvantages and problems of using mobile learning in foreign language learning have been given. Division of practical using methods of mobile learning in relation to foreign language learning in non-linguistic institutions of higher education into five groups has been presented. Each group has been grounded and illustrated with examples.


2020 ◽  
pp. 933-954
Author(s):  
Aubrey Statti ◽  
Kelly M. Torres

The following chapter will discuss the impact of technology use and mobile learning, specifically augmented reality (AR), in the process of learning a second or foreign language, namely English and Spanish. The chapter will begin with an overview of AR and then include a discussion of the theoretical framework, language learning contexts, as well as AR tools and applications in the process of second or foreign language learning. An overview of the benefits of AR in language learning will also be included, as well as an introduction to AR applications and specific AR systems, platforms, and case studies in language learning. The research will also provide a discussion of the challenges of using AR in language learning contexts, including specific attention to challenges with AR and learning, AR and language learning, and mobile learning as a whole. The chapter will conclude with final thoughts from the authors in terms of potential areas of AR development that are in need of further attention.


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