Abstract:

A case study was conducted on English First Additional Language classrooms in a selected University in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa primarily to:
(1) examine how learning with mobile technologies could support students in acquiring the knowledge and skills they would need to become more proficient in English First Additional Language;
(2) examine whether learning with mobile technologies supports students’ active learning; and,
(3) understand how the use of mobile technologies generates stimulating changes in classroom activities.

Constructivist theory was used as the lens of the study to explain the data collected from 8 lecturers teaching Bachelor of Education first year students. A qualitative approach was adopted using individual interviews. The findings suggest that technology integration: supports students’ active learning (e.g., listening, communicative, reading, and writing skills); generates stimulating changes in classroom activities; serves as a motivating factor for the students, i.e., they become more engaged in English First Additional Language activities; and, expands the classroom into the real world, thereby enhancing the students’ knowledge. The challenges reported related to: some students’ lack of knowledge on how to use technologies; English First Additional Language lecturers’ negative attitudes toward the use of technologies in the classroom; and, limited access to specialized English First Additional Language software programs, and relevant Applications.

Keywords:

English First Additional Language, integration, asynchronous, software Applications.