Systematic Literature review on the Use of Applications of Smartphones for Teaching English in EFL Contexts

This review paper provides an overview of the use of applications of smartphones, target language skills, methodology, and EFL contexts from the studies published between 2010 and January 2020. As per time frame and parameters followed by the PRISMA model, 45 of 2707 studies were retrieved from four reputable online databases, namely Springer link, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, were eligible for this study, All these studies (n=45) scrutinized and analyzed with NVIVO-12 for obtaining the objectives of this study. The findings showed that 25 applications of smartphones were employed, and the most used application was Short Message Service (SMS). Further, the findings reported that vocabulary was the most targeted language skills, the quantitative research methodology was the most popular and highest number of studies held in Iran employing smartphone apps in ELT. Based on the findings, the study would provide some implications and suggestions over the use of the applications of smartphones for facilitating teaching and learning language skills in the EFL contexts for educators and researchers

Project Based Approach Focusing on Students Speaking Skill Using Digital Storytelling

This paper describes the digital storytelling task applied in speaking class of second year students of English Study Program, including advantages students achieve from storytelling and technology integration as well as suggestions for classroom implementation. The necessity for students to use effective written communication and to be technologically literate remains strong. Meanwhile, English teachers charged with developing these skills are searching for ways to engage students in the writing process and integrate technology into daily learning activities. Digital storytelling aligns with both of these objectives. This strategy invites students into the writing process on a personal level and integrates several technologies into the final project. With careful planning and preparation, digital storytelling present students with a deeply meaningful learning experience. Many students readers and writers, will be highly motivated by the personal nature of storytelling and the integration of technology. An interactive technology can keep the students engaged into the material. As they build their stories, students will be reading for depth and understanding, and gaining proficiency with the vocabulary, structure and pronunciation of language. Finally, students will gain greater competence with technology as they refine their problem-solving skills. Sharing personal stories and engaging in this variety of thinking skills will prove to be a rewarding experience for both teachers and students. Keywords : Project based approach, digital storytelling, writing, literac

Use of mobile phones in teaching English in Bangladesh: a systematic review (2010-2020)

The use of mobile devices for English language teaching (ELT) is increasing rapidly all over the world. This review study surveys the empirical research on using mobile phones in ELT published in Scopus and Web of Science indexing journals from 2010 to 2020 in Bangladesh. Out of 103 studies, 11 studies met the criteria of this study to analyze the effects of mobile phones on ELT. The findings show that the major research trends of these studies aim at teachers’ professional development using mobile phones for teaching language. The findings also reveal that the use of mobile phones is effective in ELT through facilitating feasible, ubiquitous, and effective learning environments with some limitations, i.e., an issue with charging, a small screen, affection, and a lack of teacher confidence. Of the studies conducted, 83% have employed a qualitative research design for investigating learners’ readiness and concepts on the use of this device. In addition, there is a lack of empirical studies with the intention to observe and justify the effect of mobile phones on developing learners’ language skills. There is also a lack of evidence describing which mobile applications are effective for developing relevant language skills. Overall, the results of this systematic review might be applicable in the context of similarly developing countries, as well as triggering empirical research in the field of technology-enhanced ELT in these countries

Digital Mangatoon to Born Out New Peace in English Classroom

Digital comics are proven to be an effective learning tool for both teachers and students. At the university level, this study was set out to find the views of second-semester students on the use of Mangatoon digital comics in reading instruction. A quantitative study was performed, involving second-semester students at the Universitas of Al Asyariah Mandar (n=30). This study found, that on average, students find Mangatoon helpful in assisting them in reading since it has practical features preserving their motivation. Based on the student’s perception, the reading material presented in Mangatoon is easily understood, hence improvement in their reading skills can be maximised. Keywords: Digital Comic; Reading; ELT; and Pedagogical Innovation

Exploring EFL teachers' perception on readiness to use smartphones for teaching oral English communication skills at tertiary level1

This study aims to examine the EFL teachers' perception of their readiness to use different smartphone applications for teaching oral skills at the tertiary level in Bangladesh and compares this to the relevant demographic factors. To reach these objectives, a mixed method research design was implemented. A survey questionnaire was answered by 46 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from twelve different universities in Bangladesh and a semistructured interview was conducted with five of these teachers. The results showed that these EFL teachers had a high degree of readiness to use smartphones for teaching oral skills. The teachers agreed that smartphones could help them to deal with the problems like a large class size, a lack of authentic materials, learners' inactiveness, as well as a lack of an oral practice environment inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, there was no statistically significant relationship between the EFL teachers' demographics and their readiness to use a smartphone. The results suggest that smartphone applications have certain potentials/benefits for the university teachers, and that a smartphonebased teaching method for developing EFL learners' oral skills should be promoted in an EFL context like Bangladesh.This study aims to examine the EFL teachers' perception of their readiness to use different smartphone applications for teaching oral skills at the tertiary level in Bangladesh and compares this to the relevant demographic factors. To reach these objectives, a mixed method research design was implemented. A survey questionnaire was answered by 46 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from twelve different universities in Bangladesh and a semistructured interview was conducted with five of these teachers. The results showed that these EFL teachers had a high degree of readiness to use smartphones for teaching oral skills. The teachers agreed that smartphones could help them to deal with the problems like a large class size, a lack of authentic materials, learners' inactiveness, as well as a lack of an oral practice environment inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, there was no statistically significant relationship between the EFL teachers' demographics and their readiness to use a smartphone. The results suggest that smartphone applications have certain potentials/benefits for the university teachers, and that a smartphonebased teaching method for developing EFL learners' oral skills should be promoted in an EFL context like Bangladesh

How Mr. Bean Film Influence Student’s Engagement in Learning Tenses

This research concentrates to analyze student’s engagement in learning English in online environment amid Covid 19. Mr. Bean film used in this study to help students understand English tenses for EFL classroom. A random choice of English subject was made with 21 students from Technique Information of Computer Science faculty at Universitas Al Asyariah Mandar Indonesia. The English tenses content and language level difficulty based on a Mr. Bean film was chosen in teaching were: simple present tense, present continuous, Present perfect, past simple. They looked at the Mr. Bean film, analyze the tenses, re write the tenses in sentences then create their own tenses. After the film, the participants replied to material understanding and questions by retelling on their video. The collected data were subject to descriptive qualitative. The findings showed that Mr. Bean film have a positive effect on English understanding of tenses content. It can be argued that the participants better understand the English tenses with film. In addition, it is found in this study student’s engagement increase and they were motivated to learn English tenses. The teacher's pedagogy is to use a certain Mr. Bean film to enhance the student’s motivation, engagement and help to be easier to understanding tenses

Barriers to sustainability at Pakistan public universities and the way forward

Purpose: Sustainability has globally become a mantra to address complex and unprecedented survival, social, political and peace issues. Higher education institutions bear responsibility to address them. This paper aims to explore barriers that Pakistani public universities (PPUs) face in embedding sustainability at their campuses. This paper also offers potential opportunities to take initiatives to minimize barriers and move towards a sustainable future. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on case study approach, and data were gathered through interviews and documents. Interviews with 11 academic administrators were conducted to gain deeper understanding on issues of governance and its influence on sustainability. Data were analysed using thematic analysis that created thematic map/model. Findings: Key findings include, firstly, that majority of participants think poor governance is the biggest issue in demoting sustainability. This barrier causes an array of interconnected barriers. Secondly, participants strongly associate unsustainability with lack of institutional change and training. Finally, lack of resources was the most frequently articulated barrier. Findings provided a rationale to propose suggestions to promote sustainability. Originality/value: Developed countries are leaders in promoting sustainability, whereas developing countries are laggards. Pakistan, a developing country, does not have substantial research to reveal the barriers PPUs are facing to promote sustainability. This paper is an attempt to address research gap in identifying barriers to sustainability

A systematic overview of issues for developing EFL learners' oral English communication skills

The objective of this systematic review is to present a critical overview of current studies to explore issues such as the factors causing EFL learners’ poor oral performance and the teaching and assessment methods of oral English communication skills (OECSs) for developing tertiary level learners’ OECSs in EFL contexts. For this purpose, 51 empirical studies of the 2907 retrieved from SpringerLink, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and the Google Scholar database that were published between 2010 and 2019 in different EFL contexts were analyzed. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was analyzed thematically using NVIVO 12, followed by the Mendeley reference management software. Studies that were conducted in native English contexts and non-empirical studies were excluded from consideration for this study. The findings showed that the environmental factor was the primary factor for learners’ poor OECS performance in EFL contexts. For the method of teaching and assessment of learners’ OECSs, the use of technology is rapidly increasing in different EFL contexts. This study suggests some implications for both future researchers and academics for developing EFL learners’ oral English communication skills dealing with environmental, psychological, and linguistic factors along with teaching and learning resources at the tertiary level in EFL contexts

Investigating the problems of teaching oral English communication skills in an EFL context at the tertiary level

Although a good number of studies have been conducted on the problems EFL learners face to develop oral English communication skills, only a few studies tackled the problems EFL teachers face when teaching oral English communication skills at the tertiary level globally and in the Bangladeshi EFL context. Thus, the objectives of this study are to explore the problems faced by EFL teachers and the relationship between teachers' demographic factors and the problems of teaching oral English communication skills (OECSs) at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. To obtain these objectives, the researchers employed an explanatory sequential mixedmethod research design by distributing an adapted survey questionnaire and conducting a semi-structured interview. Data were collected from 46 EFL teachers who were teaching at the department of English at 15 different public and private universities in Bangladesh. The synthesized results from quantitative and qualitative data show that the most frequent problems that EFL teachers face are the use of mother tongue, inappropriate teaching method, learners' passiveness, and lack of motivation, lack of oral practice environment, lack of supporting tools, lack of authentic materials and large class size. Besides, there is no statistically significant relationship between teachers' demographic factors and the problems the teachers face while teaching oral skills at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. In light of the results, this paper recommends that empirical studies should be conducted to provide teachers with methods that would integrate features of the smartphone, such as WhatsApp, call recorder, voice recorder etc. for teaching oral English communication skills

Investigating EFL learners’ readiness of using smartphone and problems for learning oral English communication skills at tertiary level in an EFL context

Although extensive research has been carried out to investigate EFL learners' readiness of using smartphone and problems in global EFL contexts, there remains a scarcity of evidence on EFL learners' readiness of using smartphone and problems faced for learning oral English communication skills at tertiary level in Bangladesh. The present study was conducted to explore Bangladeshi tertiary level learners' readiness of using smartphone and problems for learning oral English communication skills. This study employed a mixedmethod design, using a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview as data collection instruments. The participants of this study were sixty-one learners (35 females and 26 males) who were studying at the department of English of a university. The findings from the questionnaire illustrated that EFL learners' level of readiness of using a smartphone was high, and the frequent problems they faced were lack of authentic materials, audio-video aids, oral practice environment, large size class and existing teaching method. Subsequently, from the findings of semi-structured interview solicited three themes regarding EFL learners' readiness were availability, usability and positivity for the use of smartphone and four themes regarding EFL learners' problems, such as psychological, linguistic, teachers' efficacy and use of mother tongue for learning oral English communication skills