Optimising the use of wireless application protocol (WAP) sites for listening activities in a Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) context

Abstract

Using the Internet through a mobile phone for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) listening skills has significant potential, and language learners in South Korea hold clearly positive attitudes towards using this. However, the barriers discouraging language learners from using the Internet for EFL listening have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This study investigates these barriers and proposes a number of features to minimise them, in order to encourage the use of EFL listening wireless application protocol (WAP) sites in a Korean context. These barriers and WAP site design principles were investigated experimentally. A WAP site for EFL listening activities was designed based on WAP site design principles and used for EFL listening for 12 weeks. Thirty Korean college-level students participated in the experiment, which used questionnaire surveys and interviews. The learners' attitudes towards using the WAP site changed after the experiment, and this change was a result of both positive and negative factors – the novelty, convenience and interactivity of the site on the positive side, and the limitations of mobile technology and the extra expense of the Internet connection on the negative side. A number of suggestions are made to minimise the negative factors and optimise the positive ones. These include various changes to the WAP-based activities, additional communication channels and instant help and feedback facilities, all of which show potential for minimising the barriers and optimising the use of WAP sites for EFL listening.