JALTCALL Presentation

JALTCALL Presentation

MACLEAN, George
Tsukuba University (JAPAN)
(with James Elwood)

Time: Saturday, 13:50 to 14:30 in Room 615

Anytime-Anywhere: Mobile Phone Applications for Modern Foreign Language Instruction

Mobile technologies such as electronic dictionaries, iPods, handheld game units, and especially cellular phones are a ubiquitous aspect of modern life. In an environment where financial resources are often strained to meet Information Technology (IT) needs, schools should actively examine and pilot educational applications of these mobile technologies, devices which students have purchased themselves and often are able to make powerful use of without any direction from their instructors. This paper will discuss recent developments in mobile learning, with reference to applications in use, potential applications, and studies to date. It will situate these applications within the context of existing pedagogical principles and. identify future issues and considerations surrounding the incorporation of mobile learning in education. The paper will also discuss efforts to incorporate a mobile program in existing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curricula. It will explain the procedure for dispatching learning materials to students via mobile phone. Results thus far of a study using cellular phones as part the instruction of presentation skills as well as for convergent reading tasks will be presented. Finally, a survey of student perceptions of use of this technology will be presented.