Smartphones as a Tool for Expediting English Vocabulary Learning: Teachers’ Perceptions of Benefits and Drawbacks‏

Abstract

This study surveyed teachers’ perceptions of the efficiency of utilizing smartphones as a tool for helping EFL students ameliorate their English vocabulary learning. A 27-item questionnaire was administered to 120 teachers working at various state and private secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. Findings revealed that the great majority of teachers (84%) considered smartphones an effective tool for teaching vocabulary. The current study also showed that teaching experience had statistically significant effects on teachers’ perceptions in favour of teachers with a moderate number of years of experience (more than 5 and less than 10 years). However, there were no statistically significant differences on teachers’ perceptions yielded by the gender variable. Furthermore, the current study showed that ease of use, the ability to engage students anywhere and anytime, learning through game applications, and offering a great deal of exposure to foreign language received the highest rate of agreement. Additionally, teachers believed that several drawbacks might impact the integration of smartphones into the classroom, including low quality of existing apps, lack of training on smartphones for academic purposes and the disruption and distraction they cause.

AI Educational Mobile App using Deep Learning Approach

“…Other mobile apps offered just like a conventional flash card with pictures of the words taught, while the other apps conveyed the definitions and instances for writing [7]. The majority of 84% of teachers, have considered using smartphones an effective tool for teaching vocabulary [8]. Mobile apps can be effective tools for vocabulary learning, and it is easy to download to mobile devices for free or at a low cost.…”

The Effectiveness of “Tell Me What is it” Android Application to Enlarge Elementary Students’ Vocabularies about Anatomy of Human Body

“…Moreover, from the teacher's side, the use of a smartphone also helps the teacher in the teaching and learning process. Based on the result of the research which was conducted by Kadwa & Alshenqeeti(2020) showed that 84% of the teachers considered that smartphone was an effective tool for teaching vocabulary. This finding was in line with Poláková & Klímová(2020), who stated that mobile learning applications also might help the teacher to access the students' achievement easily and observe them in an authentic and informative way.…”