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Mariusz Kruk
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Mariusz Kruk University of Zielona Gora, Poland mkruk @ uz.zgora.pl
The paper discusses the results of a study which explored advanced learners of English engagement with their mobile devices to develop learning experiences that meet their needs and goals as foreign language learners. The data were collected from 20 students by means of a semi -structured interview. The gathered data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that , on the one hand , some subjects manifested heightened awareness relating to the
advantageous role of mobile devices in their learning endeavors, their ability to reach for suitable tools and retrieve necessary information so as to achieve their goals, meet their needs and adjust their learning of English to their personal learning styles, and on the other, a rather intuitive and/or ad hoc use of their mobile devices in the classroom. Keywords: Learner autonomy, mobile devices, advanced EFL learners, learning English.
Mobile devices, smartphones and tablet computers in particular, have generated a lot of interest among researchers in recent years (Byrne & Diem, 2014). This is because the opportunities these new technologies may offer (e.g. individualized learning, the variety of mobile apps available, easy access to the internet) and/or the fact that they are increasingly more
common among learners make them an important and potentially useful addition to formal and informal language learning. According to Benson (2011), there has always been a connection between educational technologies and learner autonomy to the extent that they have often been intended for independent practice. It should be noted, however, that this link and “future enquiry and practice into technology -mediated learner autonomy will need to be increasingly aligned to the tools, settings, and activities that are of significance to language learners” (Reinders & White, 2016, p. 151). Reinders and White (2016) further argue that as long as “the potential range of settings, tools, and experiences is now virtually limitless, individuals need to be increasingly adept at critical adaptive learning in order to benefit from and contribute effectively to those settings” (p. 151). Beyond doubt, contemporary
language teachers should equip foreign/second language learners with appropriate knowledge concerning the affordances of mobile devices for language study and they should prepare them for effective usage of such devices for this purpose. It is also of paramount importance, for both researchers and practitioners, to comprehend the link between the modalities of the language learners' organization of their own learning experiences and environments and the role mobile technologies, in particular smartphones and tablets, play in these contexts. Taking into consideration the above -mentioned issues, the study reported in this article investigated ways advanced English language students use their mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablet computers) for their language learning. The article commences with a short overview of relevant literature. Next, the design of the study is described,
namely a research question, description of participants, data collection tools and analysis. This is followed by the presentation of the results of the study. The article closes with discussion and conclusions.
The concept of autonomy in second/foreign language learning and teaching has been the focus of attention for many researchers and practitioners for more than three decades. According to Benson (2001), the notion of autonomy was introduced and popularized in 1981 by Henri Holec in his seminal report for the Council of Europe entitled Autonomy in Foreign Language Learning in which the researcher defined autonomy in the context of language
learning as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning” (Holec, 1981, p. 3). Holec’s idea of autonomy encompasses some components and capacities on the part of language learners (e.g. self -directed learning). For some other authors autonomy also involves “a capacity – for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action” (Little, 1991, p. 4) and “the capacity to take control of one’s own learning” (Benson, 2001, p. 46). As stated by Benson (2011, p. 16), “autonomy is multidimensional and takes many different forms according to the person, the setting, and multiple contextual and micro -contextual factors” and it is “a multi-faceted concept that consists of several layers” (Reinders, 2011, p. 48) whose roots are based in political, societal and educational developments. In addition to this, work on autonomy emphasizes social dimensions of learner autonomy in view of the fact that
“autonomous learners always do things for themselves, but they may or may not do things on their own” (Little, 2009, p. 223) and that by means of social interactions language learners “develop a capacity to analyze, reflect upon and synthesize information to create new perspectives” (Lee, 2011, p. 88). It should also be noted that recent research shows that fostering autonomy is no longer predominantly a matter of individualizing learning through out -of-class initiatives since the dominance of classroom-based approaches (Benson, 2011). Finally, it has to be added that researchers, in general, seem to be in agreement with the following claims suggested by Benson (2011): “(a) language learners naturally tend to take control of their learning, (b) learners who lack autonomy are capable of developing it, and (c) autonomous language learning is more effective than non -autonomous language learning” (p.
16). Perhaps in order to define the concept of autonomy in language learning it is necessary to understand who autonomous learners are. As Littlewood (1996) claims, an autonomous learner is “one who has independent capacity to make and carry out choices which govern his or her actions” (p. 428). The researcher argues that this capacity depends on two major components such as ability and willingness, and he claims that the attributes can also be further subdivided. Thus, ability depends on having knowledge about the options from which one can choose and skills so as to choose the most suitable alternatives. When it comes to willingness, this depends on having motivation and confidence in order to take responsibility for adequate choices. Moreover, Littlewood (1996) argues that if an individual is to be successful in being autonomous, all of these components have to be present all together. At the close of this section, a few words are in order
on the notion of autonomous language learning. An interesting description of the concept in question is offered by Reinders (2011), who defines autonomous language learning as “an act of learning whereby motivated learners consciously make informed decisions about that learning” (p. 48). According to the said researcher, it is not possible or needed in all acts of learning to be able or ready to intentionally make decisions since different learning situations present different demands. Reinders (2011) further argues that “autonomy is not an either-or concept, but has to be seen as a continuum” (p. 48). This is because a learner can display more or less autonomy in different learning circumstances. Autonomy, in Reinders’ terms changes over time between skills and within skills and thus it is difficult to achieve and is not invariably permanent (Reinders, 2011).
As stated in the previous section, the concept of autonomy has been one of the most researched areas in the field of second/foreign language learning and teaching over the last few decades. It should be noted, however, that the field of learner autonomy started to be influenced by technology in the mid -1990s as a result of the growing influence of the internet on almost every sphere of our life (including second/foreign language education) and the opportunities for online collaboration and communication (Reinders & White, 2016). As stated by Benson and Chik (2010), the latest generations of new technologies, particularly those encompassing the internet, user-generated Web content and mobility , seem to be having a bearing on the way autonomous language learning develops. Perhaps, one of the most important benefits of
implementing new technologies into language learning is the fact that they provide occasions for language learners who do not have direct access to the target language. This is because the use of new technologies, including mobile technology, allow them to “bypass classrooms and go directly to target language texts and users through the internet and social media” (Benson, 2011, p. 17). When it comes to the use of mobile technology, and, in particular, smartphones and tablet computers, for learning a foreign or second language, they can assist language learners with their learning endeavors by granting access to numerous language resources whenever and wherever such learners need them and/or they happen to be (Jones, 2015). In Jones’s opinion, such language involvement might comprise, for instance, the use of chunks of spare time for language practice, searching for target language
vocabulary in relevant contexts or interactions on social media (Jones , 2015). Furthermore, by having a mobile device a language learner has the opportunity to take control of his or her learning, direct it and engage in language activities that meet his or her individual needs and goals (Kukulska -Hulme, Traxler & Pettit, 2007; Pettit & Kukulska-Hulme 2007). Given the importance attached to new technologies, and, in particular the potential role of mobile devices in autonomous language learning, the terms mobile learning and mobile devices (MobDs) need first to be explained. As for mobile learning, no single agreed -upon definition of the term exists in the literature (Oz, 2015). This is because some researchers define mobile learning as an extension of e -learning built upon mobile devices whereas some other researchers understand it as learning that happens anywhere and anytime (cf. Oz, 2015). As far as mobile
devices are concerned, they can be defined as “any device that is small, autonomous and unobtrusive enough to accompany us in every moment and can be used for educational purposes” (Trifanova Knapp, Ronchetti & Gamper, 2004, p. 3) or as “hand held electronic devices that can be comfortably carried around in a pocket or bag, including MP3 players, digital recorders, e -readers, tablets, and smartphones” (Kukulska -Hulme, Norris & Donohue, 2015, p. 39). A lot of studies concerning the use of mobile technology and mobile devices in language learning have been published. The findings of these studies concentrated on, for example, language learners’ views on the use of mobile devices in language instruction (e.g. Oz, 2015), students’ attitudes towards using mobile phones as instructional tools for foreign language learning (e.g. Cakir, 2015), profiling mobile language learners (e.g. Byrne & Diem, 2014),
their effect on learning a foreign/second language (e.g. Nah, White & Sussex, 2008; Cavus & Ibrahim, 2009; Zhang, Song & Burston, 2011), distance language learning (e.g. Demouy, Jones, Kan, Kukulska -Hulme & Eardley, 2016), informal language learning practices (Reinders & Cho, 2011; Jones, 2015), learners’ use of mobile devices for learning a foreign language ( Stockwell, 2007; Dashtestani, 2015) and autonomy in language learning (e.g. Díaz -Vera, 2012; Djoub, 2015). In addition to this, researchers investigated a number of applications of mobile devices and presented both benefits and drawbacks of the usage of mobile technologies (e.g. Miangah & Nezarat, 2012), discussed the use of mobile devices in supporting social contacts and collaborative learning (e.g. Kukulska -Hulme & Shield, 2008) and offered guidelines related to the implementation of mobile learning into
second/foreign language instruction (e.g. Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2015).
One of the questions related to future research and practice in technology -mediated learner autonomy addressed by Reinders and White in their recent critical overview of the relationship between technology and autonomy in the journal Language Learning & Technology (LLT) concerned language learners engagement with technology -mediated environments in order to develop learning experiences that reach their aims and meet their needs as language learners (Reinders & White, 2016). Taking this important matter into consideration , and in view of the fact that mobile technology, including mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers , are
ubiquitous and substantial constituents of almost every language learner’s everyday life, the abovementioned question was modified and posed in this study in the following way: Do students engage with their mobile devices to develop learning experiences (e.g. the use of mobile devices for formal and/or informal English language study) that meet their needs and goals (e.g. the development of the target language skills and sub-skills) as English language learners? If yes, why and how do they do this?
The participants were 20 Polish university students of English philology, nine of whom (seven females and two males) were in the second year of their BA programme, six (five females and one male) in the third year and five (all females) in the second year of their MA program (1). The study participants were on
average 22.22 years old (20.66 - year 2, BA; 21.82 - year 3, BA and 24.50 - year 2, MA). The subjects reported having learned English for an average of 11.38 years (10.49 - year 2, BA; 11.27 - year 3, BA and 12.21 - year 2, MA). The proficiency level represented by the participants of the study could be described as somewhere between B1 and B2 (second year BA students), B2 and C1 (third year BA students) and C1 and C2 (second year MA students), as specified in the levels laid out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
The data were gathered by means of a semi-structured interview. This interview format was chosen intentionally since it uses a set of prepared in advance guiding questions and prompts and interviewees are encouraged to elaborate on the problems raised during it
(Dörnyei, 2007). As Dörnyei (2007) explains, in this type of the interview “the interviewer provides guidelines and direction (hence the ‘ -structured’ part in the name), but is also keen to follow up interesting developments and to let the interviewee elaborate on certain issues (hence the ‘semi-’ part)” (p. 136). During the interview, the present researcher attempted to encourage the subjects to describe their learning experiences concerning the use of mobile devices for English study. This was a form of introspection where the students were prompted to examine their behaviors and provide a first person narrative of such experiences. All the study participants were informed that the interview concerned the use of mobile devices for English study and they were asked for permission to be digitally recorded. In order to obtain relevant data the following questions were asked (2):
in relation to formal or informal English language study?
Microsoft Word 2016 . Then the transcribed parts of the data were read several times in order to look for common themes and frequently occurring information. The recurring ideas were coded and recoded, revised and updated. The researcher used the highlighting function of the word processor program which allows the user to highlight the text on the transcript with different colors and comments to record any observations and thematic categories recognized in the data. The emerged categories were reviewed, compared, modified and either merged or abandoned. It should also be noted that the obtained data were analyzed quantitatively. This type of analysis involved counting the number of the interviewees’ responses and calculating percentages.
A thorough analysis of the data yielded the following thematic categories: usage of mobile devices , reasons for using mobile devices , resources and tools , mobile encounters, language practiced and study performance.
Table 1 shows the study participants’ mobile devices (MobDs) usage descriptions. The table demonstrates that smartphones were the most often used mobile devices by the students. In addition, the numerical information in the table indicates that the participants, on average, had been using them for English language study for about
started using their mobile devices at senior high school and university, respectively. It should also be added that, with the exception of one student (i.e. S9), all the other participants claimed to use their mobile devices in order to learn English much more frequently with time. Finally, more than half of the students (55%) regarded themselves as experienced or fairly experienced users of their MobDs for English language learning; however, 45% claimed not to be very skilful in this area. Table 1. The students’ mobile devices usage descriptions. Year/ Level of study Student Sex Device used Use of MobDs for language study (approx.) Self-assessed experience 2nd year B.A. S1 female smartphone and tablet 2 years not very experienced S2 female smartphone 5 years experienced S3
female smartphone 5 years fairly experienced S4 female smartphone, rarely tablet 4 years fairly experienced S5 female smartphone 3 years not very experienced S6 male smartphone 2 years experienced S7 female smartphone and tablet 5 years fairly experienced
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