Using smartphone texting applications to help students Contents introduction

CONCLUSION

Most notable of all perhaps is the obvious high frequencies of materials acquisitions (required and non-required) through social media (most likely, officially with YouTube or Wikis, and unofficially with Facebook or WhatsApp) in terms of mixed formal and informal learning. Apart from that, the high frequencies of students using social media to share and obtain materials with each other to complete assignments, in addition to the high correlation between them illustrate that students, more or less, were goal-oriented - materials acquisition for assignment purpose. Comparing with the other learning activities, sharing and obtaining materials (i.e. materials exchange) are perhaps, the most consistent students’ activities in their learning practice through the means of social media. Although the department and class teachers have influenced the use of social media in teaching, students’ use for their learning would totally be out of their control as seen by the high intention of non-required course-related materials acquisition from students via the unofficial channels and the use with their peers. In our case, the department has implemented precautions to prevent plagiarism, including the provision of referencing training to students and the adoption of tools for similarity checking of students’ assignments. In the beneficial way, students effectively use their favorite channels for knowledge exchange in order to facilitate a valuable quality of learning. Let’s just welcome the new era of learning. No worries but take precautions! There are many Apps and websites accessible through mobile phones which can be utilized for teaching and learning purposes. Various approaches and methodologies can be used. The range of these Apps and websites discussed above give flexibility to assure a fun and easy learning process on different aspect of language learning. Therefore, it’s more about the pedagogy than the technology. Eventually, exploring the potentials of mobile Apps and software and using them to make existing approaches more efficient, as on Puentedura’s substitution level, is conceivable. On the other hand, teachers who are willing to explore of the potentials of mobile Apps and software in the light of student-centered and engagement may find their teachings becoming more constructivist. Laurillard (Laurillard, 2012) suggests that for all their differences, the most important of 20th century pedagogical approaches are not entirely unsuited. Classroom teachers, even when they work in a mostly constructivist mode, don’t shut out transmission or behaviourist approaches; very few language classes run entirely without grammar tutorials or vocabulary drills, for instance. The potential benefits of new technologies will only be realised if they are used with sensitivity to local contexts. The results reveal that m-learning is becoming a salient feature of education as it is a greatopportunity and an immense step forward, and it should be supported especially thanks to the benefitsit brings for language learning. These include: the enhancement of the learner’s cognitive capacity,the learner’s motivation to study in both formal and informal settings, the learner’s autonomy andconfidence, as well as the fact that it promotes personalized learning and helps low-achieving studentsto reach their study goals. Although it seems to be eective overall, it is desirable to design, plan and implement m-learning with caution, according to students’ needs, and to deliver multiple language skills in authentic learning environments.