MOBILE LEARNING INTEGRATION AMONG TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

<p>Unstoppable and constant advances in technology affect the inevitable changes in the ways and methods of teaching, but also changes in different students’ learning needs. New generations of students are characterized by mobility and because of that the information is very easily accessible, which requires the implementation of new trends in the educational process. One of these trends is mobile learning, which is available to young people everywhere and at any time 24/7. Therefore, it is scientifically and pedagogically justified to research the implementation and evaluation of such a new useful education tool in facilitating foreign language teaching. Mobile learning combines all forms of learning which refer to mobile devices and wireless internet. Such learning with the help of modern technologies would make it easier for students to acquire new knowledge, and at the same time to improve and to accelerate their personal and social development. Due to the various opportunities provided by mobile learning, the complexity of its implementation and implementation in teaching English as a foreign language increased almost exponentially. It has become particularly obvious in times of uncertainty such as the implementation of distance learning instead of traditional classroom teaching due to a sudden pandemic around the world. Although mobile learning is very often taken for granted because it is considered a disruptive factor in foreign language teaching (Aldrich, 2017), the affirmative attitude about mobile foreign language learning (MALL) (Zhang, Cristol, 2017) has become increasingly prevalent. The paper analyzes the results of a survey of English language teachers in primary and secondary schools in Osijek-Baranja County, which is one of the 21 counties in the Republic of Croatia, on attitudes toward mobile learning obtained from a sample of 121 participants. They point that the use of digital media in teaching is changing didactic and methodological methods and approaches to learning English, especially in secondary education. There is a lack of research on multimedia-didactic structuring of mobile learning in foreign language teaching in Croatia, this research will contribute to a better understanding of this issue but also offer possible solutions for designing innovative methods in teaching English from the aspect of mobile learning.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0032/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>