Investigating EFL Learners’ Readiness of Using Smartphone and Problems for Learning Oral English Communication Skills at Tertiary Level in an EFL Context

Investigating EFL Learners’ Readiness of Using Smartphone and Problems for Learning Oral English Communication Skills at Tertiary Level in an EFL Context

Oral English Communication Skills

Learners’ problems

Learners’ readiness

Features of Smartphones

English as a foreign language

Although extensive research has been carried out to investigate EFL learners’ readiness of using smartphone and problems in EFL contexts, there remains a scarcity of evidence on EFL learners’ readiness of using smartphone and problems for learning oral English communication skills at tertiary level in EFL context, especially in Bangladesh. The present study was conducted to explore Bangladeshi tertiary level learners’ readiness of using smartphone and problems for learning oral English communication skills. This study employed a mixed-method design, using a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview as data collection instruments. The participants of this study were sixty-one learners (35 females and 26 males) who were studying at the department of English of a university. The findings from the questionnaire illustrated that EFL learners’ level of readiness of using a smartphone was high and the frequent problems they faced were authentic materials, audio-video aids, oral practice environment, large size class and existing teaching method. Similarly, the findings of semi-structured interview emerged three themes regarding EFL learners’ readiness were availability, usability and positivity for the use of smartphone and four themes regarding EFL learners’ problems, such as psychological, linguistic, teachers’ efficacy and use of mother tongue and for learning oral English communication skills.

Ibna Seraj, Prodhan Mahbub

Habil, Hadina

Hasan, Md. Kamrul

International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM); Vol. 14 No. 14 (2020); pp. 148-163

1865-7923

International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE), Vienna, Austria

2020-08-28

Copyright (c) 2020 Prodhan Mahbub Ibna Seraj, Hadina Habil, Md. Kamrul Hasan

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Peer-reviewed Article