Using M-learning to Enhance EFL Students’ English Language Skills

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Using M-learning to Enhance EFL Students’ English Language Skills

Urarat Parnrod^1*, Dhitthita Sinraksa¹, Ameera Nung-alee¹,

Areeya Yacharat¹, Chayanat Junnuan¹, Thanvarat Laptawewong¹, Tiflanee Yeera¹

1 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Songkhla Rajabhat University, Songkhla, Thailand

*Corresponding Author: urarat.parnrod@gmail.com

Accepted: 15 December 2020 | Published: 31 December 2020

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Abstract: Mobile devices are widely used around the world. In the context of higher education, a mobile learning (M-learning) plays the main role for developing language learning and teaching. Although several studies have examined the use of mobile applications for language learning and teaching, more studies about using mobile applications focusing more on specific English language skills are needed. Therefore, this study investigated i) the mobile applications which the students used to enhance their English language skills, and ii) how the students used their preferred mobile applications. The study population included English major students. The questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect the data of the study. Hopefully, the results obtained could be used as a guideline for EFL students to promote their English language learning in long term. The teachers would also gain more dimensions about the use of mobile applications by the students. That would support the teachers in terms of combining the mobile applications and their classroom activities.

Keywords: M-learning, EFL students, English language skills

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1. Introduction

Mobile devices are widely used around the world. In the context of higher education, a mobile learning (M-learning) plays the main role for developing language learning and teaching. Since several studies have examined the use of mobile applications for language learning and teaching, more studies about using mobile applications for enhancing English language skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing in particular, are needed. Therefore, this study investigated i) the mobile applications which the students used to enhance their English language skills, and ii) how the students used their preferred mobile applications. The study population included English major students. The questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect the data of the study. Hopefully, the results obtained could be used as a guideline for EFL students to promote their English language learning in long term. The teachers would also gain more dimensions about the use of mobile applications by the students. That would support the teachers in terms of combining the mobile applications and their classroom activities.

2. Literature Review

M-learning

Mobile learning (M-learning) has been defined over the years. Some of them are summarized below:

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Table 1: Summary of M-learning

Reference Definition

Quinn, 2000 E-learning through mobile computational devices

Pocatilu & Boja, 2009 The process of delivering educational content to individuals through

mobile technologies and devices

Crompton, 2013 learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices

Ismail, 2018 the ability for anyone to choose learning materials (e.g. text, audio, and video) at any time and anywhere using mobile devices

As seen, it was found that M-learning can be defined in a far broader range of contexts. It can be flexible with several dimensions, such as personal electronic gadgets, social interactions and content. It seems that the gist of M-learning is relevant the learners’ freedom and their interaction with technology.

Educational benefits of using M-learning are proposed variously.

Table 2: Summary of M-learning

Dimension Description

Characteristics - Has small size

- Be cheaper than other devices, such as tablet

Communication - Can be used for exchanging files and messages among learners and between learners and their teachers

- Be better for learners to interact with each other and with the teacher than interacting behind the big screens or large monitor.

(Bukharaew & Altaher, 2017; Kacetl & Klimova, 2019)

Using SWOT analysis for using M-learning would be an alternative to show a clearer potential in the use of mobile applications (see Table 3).

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Table 3: M-learning SWOT Analysis

(Kacetl & Klomova, 2019, p.7).

Previous studies explored using M-learning in several dimensions, for example, M-learning approach as the next generation of e-learning (Sarrab, Elgamel & Aldabbas, 2012), mobile learning (m-learning) preferences and choices in tertiary education (Ismail, 2018), developing mobile application to enhance English pronunciation skill (Sirisukpoca & Krootjohn, 2019), and models of good teaching practices for mobile learning in higher education (Rodriguez et al, 2020). Consequently, more studies focusing on using M-learning for four primary language skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, are needed. That would support the students to get more alternatives about using mobile applications for their language learning. Additionally, some creative and innovative ideas for having more attractive language teaching would be sparked. The research questions of the study are presented below:

1) Which mobile applications is used by English major students to enhance their English language skills?

2) How do English major students use their preferred mobile applications to enhance their English language skills?

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3. Context of the Study

This study was conducted at Songkhla Rajabhat University, Songkhla, Thailand. The 2^nd year students who are majoring in English were the focus of the study. They have some foundation for taking online courses and using mobile applications for completing the tasks assigned by the teachers. Then their report would be fruitful to inspire either students or teachers to develop their language learning and teaching successfully.

4. Methodology

Participants

The participants of the study were 38 English major students. They were in second year of the study.

Instrument

For the study, the questionnaire was employed to reveal the mobile applications the students used to enhance their English language skills, and how they used the mobile applications to enhance their English language skills.

The questionnaire consists of two parts:

Part I dealt with the students’ general information.

Part II included questions about i) the mobile applications the students used to enhance their English language skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, and ii) how the students used those mobile applications. The information about the choices of mobile applications for developing English language which obtained from informal interviews with some English major students (excluding the participants of the study) was used as the basis for constructing this part. An example of the questions in Part II was given below:

1) What mobile applications do you use to enhance your listening skill? (you can choose more than one)

Mobile Application How to use

 BBC News

 Cake

 Google Translate

 Line

 Netflix

 Spotify

 TED Talks

 TikTok

 Others (please specify) ______________________

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5. Results and Discussion

Research Question 1: Which mobile applications is used by English major students to enhance their English language skills?

The data obtained from the questionnaire identified the mobile applications which English major students used to enhance their English language skills as shown below:

Table 4: Mobile Application to Enhance Listening Skill Mobile application Number %

Netflix 20 52.63

TikTok 20 52.63

Google Translate 13 34.21

Spotify 12 31.58

TED Talks 7 18.42

Line 5 13.16

BBC News 2 5.26

Cake 1 2.63

Table 4 shows that the top-three mobile applications which the students used them to enhance their listening skill are Netflix (N=20, 52.63%), TikTok (N=20, 52.63%), and Google Translate (N=13, 34.21%).

Table 5: Mobile Application to Enhance Speaking Skill Mobile application Number %

Netflix 14 35.90

TikTok 10 25.64

Line 8 20.51

TED Talks 5 12.82

BBC News 4 10.26

Spotify 4 10.26

Cake 2 5.13

Table 5 shows that the top-three mobile applications which the students used them to enhance their speaking skill are Google Translate (N=19, 48.72%), followed by Netflix (N=14, 35.90%), and TikTok (N=10, 25.64%).

Table 6: Mobile Application to Enhance Reading Skill Mobile application Number %

Netflix 20 51.28

BBC News 18 46.15

Line 12 30.77

TikTok 8 20.51

Spotify 3 7.69

TED Talks 3 7.69

Cake 1 2.56

Table 6 shows that the top-three mobile applications which the students used them to enhance their reading skill are Netflix (N=20, 51.28%), followed by BBC News (N=18, 46.15%), and TikTok (N=12, 30.77%).

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Table 7: Mobile Application to Enhance Writing Skill Mobile application Number %

Google Translate 23 58.97

Line 12 30.77

BBC News 9 23.08

Spotify 4 10.26

TikTok 4 10.26

Netflix 3 7.69

Cake 1 2.56

TED Talks 1 2.56

Table 7 shows that the top-three mobile applications which the students used them to enhance their writing skill are Google Translate (N=23, 58.97%), followed by Line (N=12, 30.77%), and BBC News (N=9, 23.08%).

The next part will show the results about how English major students used their top-three mobile applications to promote their English language skills.

Research Question 2: How do English major students use their preferred mobile applications to enhance their English language skills?

According to the students’ report, their written information was summarized and presented below:

Table 8: Using Mobile Application to Enhance Listening Skill

Mobile application How to use

Listening Skill Netflix By watching movies or series in English TikTok By listening to the TikTokers’ English channels Google Translate By listening to the different pronunciations

Speaking Skill

Google Translate By finding how to pronounce the words correctly and practice to pronounce correctly Netflix By speaking in English based on the pronunciation and accent heard

TikTok By giving comments in English for the foreign TikTokers Reading Skill

Netflix By reading the subtitles while watching movies or series BBC News By reading news and articles

Google Translate By finding the meanings

Writing Skill

Google Translate By checking whether the sentences are written correctly Line By checking whether the words are used appropriately

BBC News By using news and articles written in English as the basis to practice writing skill

As presented above, it is notable that Netflix showed the highest scores for being used as a mobile application which English major students used to develop their receptive skills, listening and reading. As for developing productive skills, speaking and writing, most students focused on using Google Translate.

Besides, after comparing the results of the study to the previous studies, for example, a study conducted by Lieungnapar (2019). The results are dramatically different. For the previous

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study, the top-ten websites were selected based on the set criteria to reveal the mobile applications that are popular for learning English. The findings are shown in Table 8.

Table 9: Mobile Application to Enhance English Language Skills No. Application English language skill

Listening Speaking Reading Writing

1 Duolingo ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

2 Busuu ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

3 Memrise ✓

4 Babble ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

5 Rosetta Stone ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

6 Mosalingua ✓

7 FluentU ✓

8 Hello English ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

9 Mind Snacks ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

10 Speakingpal ✓

(Lieungnapar, 2019)

The differences would be from the respondents’ different background. However, they could make the students and teacher have more alternatives for using mobile applications in the area of English language learning. Then either students and teachers can try those mobile applications and make beneficial from those in order to learn English language successfully.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, the aim of this study was to investigate the mobile applications which English major students used to enhance their English language skills, and how the students used their preferred mobile applications. The findings revealed that Netflix got the highest score from English major students to be used as a mobile application to enhance their listening and reading skills, whereas Google Translate showed the highest score for developing their speaking and writing skills. The students’ report about how to use those mobile applications was also revealed. The contributions of the study would be beneficial for EFL students to promote their English language learning in long term. The teachers would also gain more understanding on the use of students’ preferences for developing their English language skills. It is also suggested that control (i.e. combining the mobile applications and teaching methods to make the students more active and energetic), context (i.e. using various classroom activities to fit teaching and learning environment), and communication (i.e. using a variety kinds of applications, especially MS Teams, Zoom, Whats App, Padlet and Stormboard) to communicate between teachers and students) should be considered while using mobile applications (Rao, 2019; Parnrod & Panrod, 2020). However, more studies involving the impact of the students’ characteristics on mobile applications preferences would be needed. The reasons behind using each application by the students would be added for future work to make English language learning and teaching more productive and successful.

References

Bukharaev, N., Altaher, A. W. (2017). Mobile Learning Education Has Become More Accessible. American Journal of Computer Science and Information technology, 5(2), 1- 5.

Crompton, H. (2013). A Historical Overview of Mobile Learning: Toward learner-centered education. Handbook of mobile learning, 3-14.

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Ismail, M. I. A. (2018). The Impact of Learners’ Characteristics on M-learning Preferences, and How M-learning Preferences Form Choices in Different Contexts. Unpublished Doctoral thesis, Australian National University: Australia.

Kacetl, J., & Klimova, B. (2019). Use of Smartphone Applications in English Language Learning: A Challenge for Foreign Language Education. Education Sciences.

https://doi:10.3390/educsci9030179

Rao, P., S. (2019). The Importance of Mobile Apps in the English Language Learning Environment. International E-Journal for Research in ELT, 5(1), 98-116.

Parnrod, U., & Panrod, W. (2020). Using M-leraning for EFL Students with Different Learning Styles in Language Learning. International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society, 2(3), 19-26.

Pocatilu, P., & Boja, C. (2009). Quality Characteristics and Metrics Related to M-learning Process. Amfiteatru Economic, 11(26), 346-354.

Rao, P. S. (2019). The Importance of Mobile Apps in the English Language Learning Environment. International E-Journal for Research in ELT, 5(1), 98-116.

Rodrigues, J. M. R. et al. (2020). Models of Good Teaching Practices for Mobile Learning in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0468-6

Sarrab, M, Elgamel, L., & Aldabbas, H. (2012). Mobile Learning (M-Learning) and Educational Environment. International Journal of Distributed and Parallel Systems, 3(4), 31-38.

Sirisukpoca, U., & Krootjohn, S. (2019). Development of Mobile Application to Enhance English Pronunciation Skill with Flipped Classroom Technique for 3^rd Grade Students.

Technical Education Journal: King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 10(2), 227-236.

Quinn, C. (2000). M-Learning: Mobile, Wireless, In-your-pocket Learning. LiNE Zine, 2006.