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Perceptions of English language Dominican Students on cell phone use for language learning activities

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Gisela Martiz-W.
Gisela Martiz-W.

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore what type of language learning opportunities teacher and students can create using cell phones and investigate the perceptions of students on the use of cell phones for learning activities.

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Perceptions of English language Dominican Students on cell phone use for language learning activities Gisela Martiz AECT International Convention Anaheim, California October 31, 2013
Background The use of mobile devices to enhance learning opportunities regardless of time and place is known as mobile learning. In general, mobile learning research in English language education has yielded positive results (Chinnery, 2006; Kukulska-Hulme, 2009; 2010). Mobile learning research in this field is popular in developed and developing countries across East and South Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Bangladesh,Turkey). Cell phones are widely used in Latin American developing countries like the Dominican Republic (DR) (Priestley, 2012; Sutherland, 2011). 2
Need statement English language is very important for young adult professional development in the DR (Universia, 2008) Access to technology for language learning is limited in many Dominican educational institutions (Cultura Digital, 2012). Mobile learning research (in language learning particularly) is scarce in developing Latin American countries like the DR (UNESCO, 2012; SCOPEO, 2011). It is necessary to explore how students own mobile technologies can be integrated inside and outside the classroom to enhance their language learning experience. 3
Purpose of Pilot Study Explore what type of language learning opportunities that the teacher and students can create using cell phones. Investigate the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones for learning activities. Provide ideas for options in the use of cell phones in language learning activities for the dissertation study in the Dominican Republic (DR). 4
Research Questions RQ1. What type of language learning activities can aDominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones for learning activities during a summer immersion program? 5
Theoretical Perspective Embodied Interaction Creation, manipulation and sharing of meaning through engaged interaction with artifacts (Dourish 2001, p. 126) Appropriation Appropriation connects the technical aspects of the artifact with the social aspect of the learner. Teachers and learners adopt new uses of their own mobile technologies that go beyond their intended regular use (Jones & Issroff, 2007; Pachler, 2009; Waycott, Jones & Scanlon, 2005) Affordances Features of an artifact (or an environment in general) that allow particular sorts of actions to appropriately equip individuals. (Dourish, 2001) 6
Methodology Exploratory case study A Case study approach provides an in-depth description of a phenomenon of a unit of analysis or a bounded system (Merriam, 2009; Yin, 2003) Participants Selected through purposeful sampling: Instructor Female Dominican English language instructor Experience teaching English as a foreign language in the DR, and as second language in the summer program. Students 15 Dominican university students with ages ranging from 18 to 25 Part of a larger group of students participating in the summer English immersion program 7
Suggested mobile learning activities Cell phone feature Potential uses Language skill/compone nt emphasized Reference from the literature Textmessaging Instructional material delivery in chunks Delivery of vocabulary words Quizzes Reading (Cooney & Keogs, 2007; Saran et al., 2008; Lu, 2008) Picture camera Vocabulary learning through cell phone pictures Vocabulary (Basoglu & Akdermir, 2010) Video recording Recording conversations in the target language Oral proficiency Gromik, 2012 Audio recording Interviewing/listening to a native speaker Describing a place in the target culture Speaking/ listening Ros i Sole (2009) Mobile internet Post an entry in a mobile blog Look up information online Writing/reading Comas-Quinn, et al. (2009) Bluetooth Transfer instructional material to and from another mobile device or computer. Varies Dennet & Traxler (2007) Vocabulary 8
Suggested resources for learning activities Cellphones: Students own smartphones (7 total) Cell phones loaned: AT&T Z431 GoPhone速 - prepaid model from AT&T (8 total) Main features: Picture Camera Video recording Audio recording Text messaging Music Player Mobile web Bluetooth Image Source: Google images Labeled for reuse 9
Data collection procedures Primary Data Collection Source Week #1 13 completed pre-questionnaires Week #2 Week #3 7 Individual semi-structured interviews with teacher & students Teacher lesson-plan 2 Participant observations Week #4 Details Demographic questions 11 closed-ended items on cell phone use 2 open ended questions 8 guiding interview questions lasted 30 min to 1h long Classroom observations of student activities using cell phones 4 Participant observations 10
Data collection procedures Primary Data Collection Source Details Week #5 2 Participant observations Week #6 Individual semi-structured postinterviews with 4 students -9 guiding questions - Lasted 30 mins to 1hr long Week# 7 Individual semi-structured postinterviews with 4 students 15 post-questionnaires -19 closed items (frequency of use) -13 closed-ended items (likert scale) -2 open-ended questions 11
Data Analysis Primary Data Collection Source Research question Planned analysis RQ1. What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students create using cell phone features? Pre-questionnaire 7 Pre-interviews Participant Observations Teacher lesson plan 8 Post-interviews Post Questionnaire Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis (In Vivo & Open coding) (Axial & Focused coding) RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones as tools for learning activities tools during a summer immersion program? Pre-questionnaire Pre-interviews Post-questionnaire Post-interviews Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis (In Vivo & Open coding) (Axial & Focused coding) 12
Student ownership and cellphone use (pre-questionnaire) Mobile devices owned in the DR by participants Teacher-guided learning activities using cellphones in the DR 13
RQ1.What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? Offline learning opportunities In the classroom: Taking pictures of information on whiteboard or PowerPoint slides Video recording student presentations Audio recording teacher lecture Outside the classroom: Taking pictures of objects, places, signs Listening to songs in English on cell phone playlist Vocabulary words & reminders from the teacher through text messages Transfer files from cell phones to other devices via Bluetooth 14
RQ1.What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? Online learning opportunities In the classroom: Voting in poll system In and out the classroom: Looking up unknown words in online dictionaries Using Google Search/Google Translator Outside the classroom: Listening to songs in English online (Spotify, Pandora, etc) Checking class related emails Watching YouTube videos in English with lyrics 15
Polling activities (inside the classroom Text messaging activities 16
Frequency of activities (Post-questionnaire) Accessing online/downloaded dictionaries Using Google Search e) never e) never d) rarely d) rarely c) sometimes c) sometimes b) often b) often a) daily 0 a) daily 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 4 6 8 10 12 6 7 7 Recording videos Taking pictures in the classroom e) never e) never d) rarely d) rarely c) sometimes c) sometimes b) often b) often a) daily a) daily 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 1 2 3 4 5 17
RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones as tools for learning activities tools during a summer immersion program Useful to provide peer and selffeedback Help to improve writing & speaking skills Promotes communication Helps remember and better understand new concepts Some activities promote confidentiality and anonymity Saves times Can be distracting with the use of social networks Cell phone use restriction Lack of information in effective use of cell phone Concerns about DR teachers willingness to integrate cell phones to learning activities 18
Student perceptions (post-questionnaire ) I would enjoy the use of cell phones in my classes because their use promotes creativity and new ways of thinking. I feel that my teachers would be more willing to facilitate the effective use of cell phones in their classrooms if cell phones were allowed in my English classes. 19
Preliminary findings (cont) Integrating cellphones into the language learning activities can motivate students in classrooms with limited access to technology If the teacher has a clear learning objective, distraction would not be a problem when using cellphones as learning tools in the classroom 20
Discussion: affordances of cell phones for language learning activities Feature phone Images Source: Google images Labeled for reuse Smartphone 21
Appropriating cell phones for learning activities Appropriation occurred as students adopted new uses of their own mobile technologies that went beyond their intended regular use. Students engaged mostly in language learning opportunities on their own initiative: I recorded many activities that we did in class, and then listened to them at home. These were some things I used to do, I would listen to what they said and see if I understood. (Video/audio used for feedback) 22
Appropriating cell phones for learning activities I usually took pictures of the activities we were doing. In art and ceramics (class) there were words I didnt know what they mean(t) so I took pictures. For example, (pointing at a cup) this is clay, so I take a picture of it and write clay to remember the word. (cell phone pictures used for vocabulary learning) "I started listening to the radio (on my cellphone) and my playlist because I was really bad at listening to the lyrics of the songs. Ive improved now ( listening songs to improve listening skills) 23
Limitations Small sample of participants Students with advanced English language proficiency A Speaking class (limited activities could be implemented with cell phones) Different setting than a usual English language classroom in the Dominican Republic. 24
Conclusion & further research Students perceived that cell phones were useful to enhance their language learning experience. Students also acknowledged that some activities would be difficult to implement in a DR context. Further research is necessary to explore the affordances of cell phones in an English language classroom in the DR, in order to localize effectively mobile learning activities to that context. 25
Questions? Comments?
Websites sources: Celly: http://cel.ly/ Polleverywhere: http://www.polleverywhere.com/ 27

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Perceptions of English language Dominican Students on cell phone use for language learning activities

  • 1. Perceptions of English language Dominican Students on cell phone use for language learning activities Gisela Martiz AECT International Convention Anaheim, California October 31, 2013
  • 2. Background The use of mobile devices to enhance learning opportunities regardless of time and place is known as mobile learning. In general, mobile learning research in English language education has yielded positive results (Chinnery, 2006; Kukulska-Hulme, 2009; 2010). Mobile learning research in this field is popular in developed and developing countries across East and South Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Bangladesh,Turkey). Cell phones are widely used in Latin American developing countries like the Dominican Republic (DR) (Priestley, 2012; Sutherland, 2011). 2
  • 3. Need statement English language is very important for young adult professional development in the DR (Universia, 2008) Access to technology for language learning is limited in many Dominican educational institutions (Cultura Digital, 2012). Mobile learning research (in language learning particularly) is scarce in developing Latin American countries like the DR (UNESCO, 2012; SCOPEO, 2011). It is necessary to explore how students own mobile technologies can be integrated inside and outside the classroom to enhance their language learning experience. 3
  • 4. Purpose of Pilot Study Explore what type of language learning opportunities that the teacher and students can create using cell phones. Investigate the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones for learning activities. Provide ideas for options in the use of cell phones in language learning activities for the dissertation study in the Dominican Republic (DR). 4
  • 5. Research Questions RQ1. What type of language learning activities can aDominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones for learning activities during a summer immersion program? 5
  • 6. Theoretical Perspective Embodied Interaction Creation, manipulation and sharing of meaning through engaged interaction with artifacts (Dourish 2001, p. 126) Appropriation Appropriation connects the technical aspects of the artifact with the social aspect of the learner. Teachers and learners adopt new uses of their own mobile technologies that go beyond their intended regular use (Jones & Issroff, 2007; Pachler, 2009; Waycott, Jones & Scanlon, 2005) Affordances Features of an artifact (or an environment in general) that allow particular sorts of actions to appropriately equip individuals. (Dourish, 2001) 6
  • 7. Methodology Exploratory case study A Case study approach provides an in-depth description of a phenomenon of a unit of analysis or a bounded system (Merriam, 2009; Yin, 2003) Participants Selected through purposeful sampling: Instructor Female Dominican English language instructor Experience teaching English as a foreign language in the DR, and as second language in the summer program. Students 15 Dominican university students with ages ranging from 18 to 25 Part of a larger group of students participating in the summer English immersion program 7
  • 8. Suggested mobile learning activities Cell phone feature Potential uses Language skill/compone nt emphasized Reference from the literature Textmessaging Instructional material delivery in chunks Delivery of vocabulary words Quizzes Reading (Cooney & Keogs, 2007; Saran et al., 2008; Lu, 2008) Picture camera Vocabulary learning through cell phone pictures Vocabulary (Basoglu & Akdermir, 2010) Video recording Recording conversations in the target language Oral proficiency Gromik, 2012 Audio recording Interviewing/listening to a native speaker Describing a place in the target culture Speaking/ listening Ros i Sole (2009) Mobile internet Post an entry in a mobile blog Look up information online Writing/reading Comas-Quinn, et al. (2009) Bluetooth Transfer instructional material to and from another mobile device or computer. Varies Dennet & Traxler (2007) Vocabulary 8
  • 9. Suggested resources for learning activities Cellphones: Students own smartphones (7 total) Cell phones loaned: AT&T Z431 GoPhone速 - prepaid model from AT&T (8 total) Main features: Picture Camera Video recording Audio recording Text messaging Music Player Mobile web Bluetooth Image Source: Google images Labeled for reuse 9
  • 10. Data collection procedures Primary Data Collection Source Week #1 13 completed pre-questionnaires Week #2 Week #3 7 Individual semi-structured interviews with teacher & students Teacher lesson-plan 2 Participant observations Week #4 Details Demographic questions 11 closed-ended items on cell phone use 2 open ended questions 8 guiding interview questions lasted 30 min to 1h long Classroom observations of student activities using cell phones 4 Participant observations 10
  • 11. Data collection procedures Primary Data Collection Source Details Week #5 2 Participant observations Week #6 Individual semi-structured postinterviews with 4 students -9 guiding questions - Lasted 30 mins to 1hr long Week# 7 Individual semi-structured postinterviews with 4 students 15 post-questionnaires -19 closed items (frequency of use) -13 closed-ended items (likert scale) -2 open-ended questions 11
  • 12. Data Analysis Primary Data Collection Source Research question Planned analysis RQ1. What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students create using cell phone features? Pre-questionnaire 7 Pre-interviews Participant Observations Teacher lesson plan 8 Post-interviews Post Questionnaire Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis (In Vivo & Open coding) (Axial & Focused coding) RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones as tools for learning activities tools during a summer immersion program? Pre-questionnaire Pre-interviews Post-questionnaire Post-interviews Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis (In Vivo & Open coding) (Axial & Focused coding) 12
  • 13. Student ownership and cellphone use (pre-questionnaire) Mobile devices owned in the DR by participants Teacher-guided learning activities using cellphones in the DR 13
  • 14. RQ1.What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? Offline learning opportunities In the classroom: Taking pictures of information on whiteboard or PowerPoint slides Video recording student presentations Audio recording teacher lecture Outside the classroom: Taking pictures of objects, places, signs Listening to songs in English on cell phone playlist Vocabulary words & reminders from the teacher through text messages Transfer files from cell phones to other devices via Bluetooth 14
  • 15. RQ1.What type of learning activities can a Dominican English language instructor and her students do using cell phone features? Online learning opportunities In the classroom: Voting in poll system In and out the classroom: Looking up unknown words in online dictionaries Using Google Search/Google Translator Outside the classroom: Listening to songs in English online (Spotify, Pandora, etc) Checking class related emails Watching YouTube videos in English with lyrics 15
  • 16. Polling activities (inside the classroom Text messaging activities 16
  • 17. Frequency of activities (Post-questionnaire) Accessing online/downloaded dictionaries Using Google Search e) never e) never d) rarely d) rarely c) sometimes c) sometimes b) often b) often a) daily 0 a) daily 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 4 6 8 10 12 6 7 7 Recording videos Taking pictures in the classroom e) never e) never d) rarely d) rarely c) sometimes c) sometimes b) often b) often a) daily a) daily 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 1 2 3 4 5 17
  • 18. RQ2. What are the perceptions of Dominican English language students on the use of cell phones as tools for learning activities tools during a summer immersion program Useful to provide peer and selffeedback Help to improve writing & speaking skills Promotes communication Helps remember and better understand new concepts Some activities promote confidentiality and anonymity Saves times Can be distracting with the use of social networks Cell phone use restriction Lack of information in effective use of cell phone Concerns about DR teachers willingness to integrate cell phones to learning activities 18
  • 19. Student perceptions (post-questionnaire ) I would enjoy the use of cell phones in my classes because their use promotes creativity and new ways of thinking. I feel that my teachers would be more willing to facilitate the effective use of cell phones in their classrooms if cell phones were allowed in my English classes. 19
  • 20. Preliminary findings (cont) Integrating cellphones into the language learning activities can motivate students in classrooms with limited access to technology If the teacher has a clear learning objective, distraction would not be a problem when using cellphones as learning tools in the classroom 20
  • 21. Discussion: affordances of cell phones for language learning activities Feature phone Images Source: Google images Labeled for reuse Smartphone 21
  • 22. Appropriating cell phones for learning activities Appropriation occurred as students adopted new uses of their own mobile technologies that went beyond their intended regular use. Students engaged mostly in language learning opportunities on their own initiative: I recorded many activities that we did in class, and then listened to them at home. These were some things I used to do, I would listen to what they said and see if I understood. (Video/audio used for feedback) 22
  • 23. Appropriating cell phones for learning activities I usually took pictures of the activities we were doing. In art and ceramics (class) there were words I didnt know what they mean(t) so I took pictures. For example, (pointing at a cup) this is clay, so I take a picture of it and write clay to remember the word. (cell phone pictures used for vocabulary learning) "I started listening to the radio (on my cellphone) and my playlist because I was really bad at listening to the lyrics of the songs. Ive improved now ( listening songs to improve listening skills) 23
  • 24. Limitations Small sample of participants Students with advanced English language proficiency A Speaking class (limited activities could be implemented with cell phones) Different setting than a usual English language classroom in the Dominican Republic. 24
  • 25. Conclusion & further research Students perceived that cell phones were useful to enhance their language learning experience. Students also acknowledged that some activities would be difficult to implement in a DR context. Further research is necessary to explore the affordances of cell phones in an English language classroom in the DR, in order to localize effectively mobile learning activities to that context. 25
  • 27. Websites sources: Celly: http://cel.ly/ Polleverywhere: http://www.polleverywhere.com/ 27