The Effect of Using SMS as a Post Task Activity on Iranian EFL Learners’ Grammar Knowledge

Abstract

The current study aimed at investigating the effect of using SMS on Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ grammar learning. Moreover, the effect of using SMS on the Iranian EFL students’ autonomy and their perception of it as an educational tool was investigated. The participants of the present study consisted of 60 upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners. Different instrumentations including the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), grammar test, and Autonomy Questionnaire were used in this study. Through adopting a quasi-experimental design with a pretest- treatment-posttest sequence, participants were divided into Experimental and Control group. The data was analyzed and inferentially compared using independent sample and paired sample t-test. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest means of experimental and control group regarding their performance in grammar test. The results showed that experimental group learners outperformed the learners in control group. Therefore, using SMS had a significant effect on Iranian EFL learners’ effective learning of grammatical structures; in addition, it helped students to increase their autonomy towards learning. As an implication of this study, it is proposed that SMS usage can be incorporated into language classroom effectively to enhance learners’ learning of different language skills.