Abstract:

E-mobile learning technologies such as smartphones and tablet PCs are rapidly gaining popularity among foreign language teachers and students alike as an effective way to improve foreign language skills. Recent research, in fact, has shown that Japanese university students find the use of a smartphone for the purpose of studying English to be interesting and motivating. However, as language education rapidly surges forward with the adoption of mobile devices for language learning, does the incorporation of these new technologies really benefit the learner or simply satisfy the instructor’s need to be innovative and ahead of the learning curve? The present study seeks to answer this question, in part, by targeting separate surveys to both English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and instructors, respectively, at a private university in Tokyo, Japan. The first survey was administered to over 350 native Japanese undergraduate studying EFL of three departments at a private university in Tokyo, Japan, to determine how effective they felt traditional methods of teaching English receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and writing) skills—i.e., text-and lecture-centered classes -- compared with classroom methods teaching these same skills utilizing e-mobile and CALL methodologies. The survey focused on relevant topics, including mobile device usage in and out of the classroom and their effectiveness in improving English skills. The second survey was administered to university instructors from the same three departments to assess their reactions to the adoption of these technologies in language education, and to gauge whether they are having the positive impact in and out of the classroom. The results of the two surveys are also discussed in light of emerging theories of autonomous learning and second language motivation.

Keywords:

CALL, e-mobile technologies, motivation in L2 learning, autonomous learning, blended learning.