the effect of using a mobile application on efl learners' beliefs about language learning
TRANSCRIPT
The Effect of Using a Mobile Application on EFL Learners’ Beliefs about Language Learning
Asst. Prof. Dr. Turgay HAN (Corresponding author)
Dept. of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Sciences, Kafkas University, 36100,
Kars, TURKEY, [email protected] , 0090 505124 8512,
http://abs.kafkas.edu.tr/arama/goster/37
Research Interests : EFL measurement and assessment issues and areas of scholarship
including assessing language skills, using G-theory to examine score variability and
reliability of EFL writing assessments.
Fırat KESKİN
English Lecturer , School of Foreign Languages, Fırat University, 23119, Elazığ, TURKEY,
[email protected], 0090 5543257624
Research Interests : EFL measurement, educational technology, and assessment issues
The Effect of Using a Mobile Application on EFL Learners’ Beliefs about Language Learning
Abstract
This qualitative case study aimed to examine possible effects of the use of an application
(WhatsApp) on mobile phones on Turkish EFL learners’ BALL. This study demonstrates that
following 4-week WhatsApp EFL classes changed 40 Turkish EFL learners’ BALL. The
guiding research question is the following: How do EFL students describe their 4-week
experiences participating in the WhatsApp classes? Do these experiences influence their
beliefs about learning English? First, 5-open ended questions were handed out to 40 volunteer
university engineering students taking English courses in preparatory classes to examine their
pre-BALL. Next, after 4 weeks of WhatsApp classes, a focus group interview was conducted
with 6 randomly selected participants to examine the process and to observe the possible
changes. The findings showed that students’ opinions towards using such mobile devices and
applications are positive. It is implicated that such applications can help students to develop
positive attitudes toward learning EFL.
Keywords: WhatsApp, beliefs, effect, MALL, language
INTRODUCTION
Due to the penetration of many forms of technology into our lives, it has undoubtedly
become quite significant for us. Thus, the influence of technology in educational contexts was
inevitable. This puts forward the question of whether or not it has any impact on the beliefs about
language learning (LL). Many forms of technology have been subjected to language learning
research up till now; mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) is one of the widely discussed
topics (e.g. Jones, Edwards, & Reid, 2009; Tsou, Wang, &Tzeng, 2006). Using mobile devices with
the aim of language learning may be an effective method as mobile devices are a big part of our
social lives today, as well as other mobile devices such as mp3 players which enables listening
podcasts (Başaran & Cabaroğlu, 2014), and tablets(Chen & Kessler,2013). The focus of existing
MALL studies vary from general effect/impact view (Jones, Edwards, & Reid, 2009; Miangah &
Nezarat, 2012; Ono & Ishihara, 2011; Wang, et al., 2009) to the languageskills such as vocabulary
(Alemi, Sarab, &Lari, 2012; Başoğlu&Akdemir, 2010; Çavuş& İbrahim, 2009; Hayati, Jalilifar,
&Mashhadi, 2013; Lu, 2008; Stockwell, 2010; Zhang, Song, &Burston, 2011), pronunciation
(Saran, Seferoglu, &Cagiltay, 2009), reading (Hsu, Hwang, & Chang, 2013; Tsou, Wang, &Tzeng,
2006), and grammar (Baleghizadeh & Oladrostam, 2010). Moreover, other studies focused on
perception (Al-Fahad, 2009; Hsu, 2013), motivation (Ilter, 2009) and factors (Liu, Han, & Li, 2010)
about MALL. However, there are few to no studies focusing on the relationship between the use of
mobile phones and learners’ BALL.
BALL has been an area of interest for two decades; however, it was Horwitz’s (1987)
‘Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory’ (BALLI) that made the topic gain momentum. As a
matter of fact, it is possible to see in available literature that most of the research was based on
Horwitz’s BALLI. Prior studies have focused on different aspects of BALL. Beliefs and its
cognitive and metacognitive combinations such as motivation, perception, strategy use, and
attitudes (Yang, 1999) have been the primary focus of existing literature. Further, gender (Bernat&
Lloyd, 2007), studying abroad and background (Truitt, 1995), and the use of podcasts (Başaran &
Cabaroğlu, 2014) have been examined. As was stated previously, there is no existing literature
examining the relationship between the use of the WhatsApp application in EFL classes and the
students’ BALL.
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. MALL Studies
Today, technology is advancing rapidly, sparking countless new questions in language
learning research. MALL, an area of research that has emerged due to the omnipresence of
technology, has gained momentum recently. Available literature shows that researchers’ general
attitude towards MALL is positive (Jones, Edwards, and Reid, 2009; Miangah & Nezarat, 2012;
Ono & Ishihara, 2011; Wang, Shen, Novak, and Pan, 2009).
Most MALL studies focus on vocabulary. In their 2010 study, Başoğlu and Akdemir
examined the effect of an online vocabulary design and flashcards on the success of vocabulary
learning. Sixty Turkish EFL students participated in the study. The result showed that students who
used mobile phones had better success and higher motivation. Similarly, Lu (2008) compared
paper-based and mobile-assisted (m-assisted) vocabulary learning. Thirty 10th grade intermediate
level EFL students studied vocabulary. It was found that the m-assisted method had a greater impact
on their success.
Alemi et al. (2012) and Çavuş and İbrahim, (2009) obtained similar results, indicating that
MALL has advantages for vocabulary learning. However, Zhang et al., (2011) pointed out the
disadvantages of MALL in vocabulary learning. In their study, which included university-level
students, it was mentioned that the result was congruent with former studies. However, the study
had other, novel implications. For example, mobile phones may cause distractions for students, and
what was learned via mobile devices may be less permanent for students. Similarly, Hayati et al.
(2013) underlined that MALL may drag teachers into a passive role, and this is a negative effect, as
teacher interaction plays a more crucial role in students’ learning compared to mobile devices.
Vocabulary learning requires more than memorizing as accurate pronunciation is necessary
to be able to use the word appropriately. According to a research conducted by Saran et al. (2009),
using mobile devices has a favorable impact on pronunciation. The population of the study was 24
university-level EFL students learning English in preparatory class. These students were divided
into groups, and the results showed a difference in pronunciation; the group that used mobile
devices achieved greater success and accuracy in pronunciation.
MALL studies most commonly focus on vocabulary, and other skills are scarcely the
primary focus. Reading is one of those skills encountered in MALL literature. Tsou et al. (2006)
studied online storytelling in their study by developing a website to observe students. In the module
they developed students were supposed to do activities like composing online multimedia stories
easily, re-play and share the stories composed by others in schools or at home, demonstrate or learn
how storytelling can be integrated into classes. Composing two groups (control and experiment)
they conducted ten week-experiment resulting in an improvement in reading. Similarly, Hsu et al.’s
2013 study examined reading comprehension of 108 high school EFL population in Taiwan by
dividing them into three groups. After taking 18-week textbook instruction from the same teacher,
students were given an orientation of the learning tasks, and pre-test. First experimental group
studied articles individually while the second experimental group studied the same articles in
sharing mode, which provided peer study. On the other hand, the students in the control group
learned with the standard articles provided in the textbooks. After the end of the learning activity,
the students took the post-test, and were interviewed. Results showed that two experimental groups
scored significantly different in a successful way compared to control group. Finally, grammar
acquisition was also examined, albeit infrequently. Baleghizadeh and Oladrostam (2010) divided 40
Iranian students into a control group and an experimental group. Groups were observed in case of a
possible improvement in grammar learning, and the results showed that the group using mobile
devices scored better in terms of accuracy in grammar.
2.2. BALL Studies
As the issue reflects, there have been multiple attempts to enlighten the relationship among
beliefs, strategy use, and motivation. Yang (1999) reviewed a well-established sample of these
studies on BALL in three-folds: a) beliefs and strategy use b) motivation, beliefs and strategy use,
c) and studies of beliefs, motivation and strategy use. The motivational and strategy use studies
focused on how beliefs about language learning affected students’ motivations or strategies. In other
words, students’ preconceived ideas were effective factors on their motivations, strategies, and thus
their success.
Apart from the studies above, which examined beliefs and their effects on various factors,
there were other studies, which focused on some factors and their effects on beliefs. Bernat and
Lloyd (2007) investigated the relationship between gender and beliefs about language learning by
using BALLI with 155 female and 107 male EFL students. Results showed that females differed by
being more likely to consider intelligence as having a role in language learning. Further, males
seemed to enjoy practicing English with a native speaker more than females do.
Başaran and Cabaroğlu (2014) investigated whether podcast usage via mobile phones has
any impact on 187 EFL learners’ BALL. BALLI and semi-structured interviews were used to
collect the data. The results showed that podcasts had favorable effects on certain types of LL
beliefs.
The background of the student is doubtlessly a factor in many dimensions of learning. In an
EFL context, Truitt (1995) investigated the relationship between background and study abroad on
beliefs about language learning. By using BALLI, 204 Korean EFL students were studied, and the
results was compared to those of American foreign language students (Horwitz, 1988), ESL
students in the United States (Horwitz, 1987), EFL students in Taiwan (Yang, 1992), and a second
group of EFL students in Korea (Park, 1995). According to the results, the background of students
was proven to be a factor in their beliefs. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the students
who experienced living abroad for a year or more significantly differed from the ones who did not
in terms of self-efficacy and self-confidence in speaking.
This study aims to investigate the effect of mobile phones via classroom WhatsApp
activities on beliefs about language learning. As aforementioned studies reveal, beliefs are effective
factors for language learners, in terms of motivation, strategy use, and success. This study aims to
examine how EFL students describe their 4-week experiences following WhatsApp classes and if
these experiences influence their beliefs related to learning English. WhatsApp was chosen for this
study because it is one of the widely-used and very common applications around the world.
Moreover, from the anecdotal experience of the researcher, WhatsApp seems to garner so much
attention from students that it is often difficult to draw them away from it during class. Another
reason for choosing WhatsApp was that students feel comfortable using it as it is a part of their
social life.
Students took part in the activities for four weeks. The effect of the activities on students’
beliefs was examined. The activities were applied in a classroom context for four weeks. The
impact of these activities on the students’ anxiety levels was examined. Additionally, the
relationship between these activities and students’ beliefs qualitatively analyzed. The main research
question of this study was whether WhatsApp activities in EFL classes would affect the students’
beliefs about language learning in a positive way. More specifically, the research questions of this
study are the following:
a. How do EFL students describe their 4-week experiences participating in WhatsApp
classes?
b. Do these experiences influence their beliefs related to learning English?
METHODOLOGY
A qualitative case study methodology was followed in this study. According to Best and
Kahn (2006), a case study is a type of study handling social cases. Such social cases may include
social groups, institutions or individuals. Case studies require analysis of the subject of the study
over a period of time to see possible changes, developments, or growths. Yin (1998) (as cited in
Best & Kahn, 2006) lists possible ways to collect data for a case study. Documents, archival
records, direct observation, participant observation, interviews, and physical artifacts can be used as
data collection tools for a case study.
A case study was chosen in order to more fully understand the changing beliefs of EFL
students who attended the WhatsApp classes. Collecting this information through other means, such
as surveys, would only allow for a cursory understanding of these students’ beliefs. The context is
EFL students who are taking foundational EFL courses in a Turkish state university, more
specifically the preparation classroom settings in which WhatsApp was used for four week to
encourage students. It was in these settings that the students’ beliefs were expected to develop. It
was supposed that it would be possible to have a true picture of these students’ BALL while
considering the context within which it occurred.
3.1. Participants
The participants were undergraduate level students taking English courses in in a
preparatory class at a State University in Turkey. The students took a proficiency exam in which 60
points was the limit for exemption, in the beginning of the academic year, and the students in the
preparatory courses were the ones who either failed the proficiency exam or missed the exam. The
schedule of the participants included an intensive English education. They had 30 hours of English
skills per week for an academic year. These students were attending several language skill-based
courses in English at the time of the study.
The study participants were 40 volunteer students who were taking English lessons at the
elementary level for 2 months at the time of data collection. Almost all the students attended
regularly for four weeks while collecting the data.
3.2. Data collection tools
First, a Turkish background questionnaire was implemented to students in order to collect
data about the demography of the participants. Next, five open-ended questions were handed out to
participants before the WhatsApp experience to see what kind of beliefs and understanding students
had towards language learning and the usage of mobile devices in language classrooms. The
questions were the following: (1) How do you feel about the idea of using mobile devices in
language classrooms? (2) What do you think about learning to speak English with WhatsApp
activities? (3) What is the most important skill to learn in English? (4) What language skills are
easier? (5) How can language skills be learnt better?
Third, WhatsApp, a free mobile application used for instant messaging, was used to do some
activities such as making dialogues, picture talking, and writing very short stories.
Fourth, after the four week experience, a focus group interview was used to examine the
students’ feelings about the use of WhatsApp speaking activities and their anxieties. The questions
of the interview were: (1) What are your opinions about the WhatsApp activities? (2) How did
WhatsApp activities affect your language learning process? (3) What do you think about learning a
foreign language via WhatsApp? (4) How should learning a foreign language via WhatsApp be? (5)
What skills do you think WhatsApp activities affected the most?
3.3. Procedure
Data for this study were collected in several phases. First, 40 volunteer students responded
to the background questionnaire and 5 open-ended questions. The data obtained from the
participants at the beginning of the study were used to observe their beliefs about language learning.
Second, the participants were informed about the procedure and were told how to proceed.
The activities took four weeks, and one activity was done per week. The first task included writing
a mini dialogue in pairs about a topic they had learned that day. As they finished writing the
dialogue, they were instructed to call their teacher to have a quick look for simple corrections (5
mins.). Then, they practiced and recorded it within their WhatsApp group. They listened to their
dialogues to see if they were clear and also listened to dialogues (from other student groups). The
speaking/recording activity was conducted every other class or even at the end of every class. Mini-
dialogues (about 5 lines) were proposed; these took about 10 minutes. 5 minutes were spent creating
dialogues, and another 5 minutes were spent practicing and recording.
The following week the students were given the task of writing a mini story. As the students
learnt past simple that day, they were instructed to continue a sentence written on the board. Once
they finished writing, they were instructed to call their teacher for simple corrections (5 mins). After
feedback, students practiced and sent it within their WhatsApp group. They read their stories to see
if they were clear and also read the stories from other student groups. The activity was conducted
every other class or even at the end of every class. Writing stories (about 5 lines) were proposed;
these took about 10 minutes. 5 minutes were spent creating the story, and another 5 minutes were
spent practicing.
The task of the third week was picture talking. The students were supposed to talk about a
picture they like. They presented the picture to their teachers and talked about it instantly. After
simple corrections, students recorded themselves and sent the recordings with the pictures within
their WhatsApp group. They listened to their recordings to see if they were clear and also listened to
recordings from other student groups. The speaking/recording activity was conducted every other
class or even at the end of every class. Finding pictures was instructed ; these took about 10
minutes. 5 minutes were spent talking about the picture and, another 5 minutes were spent
practicing and recording. The fourth task was creating a dialogue as they did in the first week, and
the procedure was the same.
All the students were supposed to be in the WhatsApp group. They met their WhatsApp
groups in class and practiced what they were instructed to do. The activities were shared, so that
apart from learning from their own tasks they could also learn from each other.
Finally, a random sub-sample of six students among the participants attended focus group
interviews. Semi-structured interview questions were specified and delivered to students after they
finished the activities on WhatsApp. They were to discuss about the feelings they experienced
during the activities. The interviewees discussed in their native language, Turkish, in order to get
accurate and complete results. These interviews were recorded and then transcribed.
3.4. Data Analyses
Qualitative analysis was applied to the study. Using the open coding method (Strauss &
Corbin, 1990), the participants’ writings were read and reread in order to classify the responses and
label them into groups. Tables were created, and after categorization, the answers given to each
open-ended question was recorded in the tables. A similar procedure was followed for obtaining
the results from the focus group interview. The recorded focus group interview was transcribed and
translated into English. After reading the transcription several times, the labeling and
categorization procedure was completed. Tables were created according to results of the interview.
In the final step, results of both the writings and the focus group interview were compared. This
comparison was interpreted into the findings.
RESULTS
4.1. Precourse Data Analysis
4.1.1. Open-ended Questions
Five open-ended questions were posed to participants. The purpose was to learn students’
beliefs about mobile devices and language learning before the experiment was conducted so that
there could be a comparison of pre and post results of the study.
4.1.1.1. The idea of using mobile devices in language
classrooms
The first open ended-question asked was about participants’ opinions about the usage of
mobile devices. Of the 40 participants, 40 people responded to this question, for a total of 49
individual answers. Basic repeated themes symbolizing major opinions were determined and
analyzed. The following 4 major themes were identified: a) usefulness, b) indispensability, c)
easiness, d) permanence. Table below shows a summary of these answers.
Table 1.Participants’Opinions regarding the idea of using of Mobile Devices in
Language Classrooms: Total Number of Responses
Usefulness is the largest percentage of students’ opinions. As Table 1 shows, most of the
students think that mobile device usage in language classrooms is useful and helpful. Of the 49
individual answers, 4 of the participants’ mentioned the indispensability of the mobile devices.
They think these devices are indispensable parts of learning. 8 of students mentioned that such
devices eases their learning. 3 of the participants mentioned that when they use mobile devices,
what they learn becomes permanent.
4.1.1.2. The students’ belief about learning to speak English
through the WhatsApp
Opinions Total
Usefulness 34 (69%)
Indispensability 4 (8%)
Easiness 8(16%)
Permanence 3(6%)
Total 49(100%)
The second open-ended question asked was about participants’ beliefs and opinions about
learning to speak English using WhatsApp. Of the 40 students, 38 of the participants responded to
this question, for a total of 38 answers. General attitudes of the respondents were categorized and
this categorization is summarized in Table 2.
Table 2.Participants’Attitudes towards Learning to Speak English after
WhatsApp Activity.
Almost all of the respondents were positive in their answers. They mentioned how effective
this activity was, and they replied that they feel more comfortable using WhatsApp. 2 of the
participants replied as neutral and they mentioned in their answers that this activity was neither
useful nor useless. Interestingly, none of the students were negative towards using WhatsApp to
learn English.
4.1.1.3. The most important skill to learn
The third open-ended question asked was about students’ opinions about the skills of
English in terms of importance. Of 40 participants, 40 of them responded to this question, for a
total of 52 individual answers. The following 7 items were the basic repeated themes of the
students’ opinions. These items were: a) speaking, b) vocabulary, c) listening, d) all, e) grammar, f)
writing, g) reading.
Table 3.Participants’Opinions about the Importance of English
Language Skills.
Opinions Total
Positive 36(94%)
Neutral 2(6%)
Total 38(100%)
Answers for the question of importance of English language skills were mainly in 7 groups.
Most of the answers showed that speaking was in a higher place compared to other skills. Nearly
half of the participants thought that speaking is the utmost important skill. Interestingly, the students
reported that they thought the other skills (e.g. vocabulary, listening, grammar, writing, and
reading) were all of equal importance. The second most important skill appeared to be vocabulary
with 9 respondents which was followed by listening with 7 people. 6 of the respondents said that
none of the skills are more important than others; they are all important. 4 participants determined
that grammar was the most important, while 3 participants chose writing, and 2 participants chose
reading.
4.1.1.4. The easier language skills
The fourth open-ended question asked was about the skills of English in terms of easiness.
All of the 40 participants responded to the question, for a total of 43 answers. The following 7 items
were the basic repeated themes. These items were: a) reading, b) writing, c) listening, d) speaking,
e) vocabulary, f) grammar, g) pronunciation.
Skills Total
Speaking 21(40%)
Vocabulary 9(17%)
Listening 7(13%)
All 6(11%)
Grammar 4(7%)
Writing 3(5%)
Reading 2(4%)
Total 52(100%)
Table 4.Participants’Opinions about the Easiness of English Language Skills
Students’ answers show that reading is regarded as the easiest skill among participants. As
Table 4 shows, there were 10 responses indicating that writing is the easiest skill to learn while 7 of
the responses indicated listening is the easiest one. Other skills mentioned in the study are speaking
and vocabulary; each of these were deemed as the most important skill in 3 responses. Grammar
and pronunciation skills were deemed most important by one response each.
4.1.1.5. How to learn language skills better
The fifth and last open ended question was to learn the students’ opinions about how
language skills can be learnt better. All of the participants answered the question and a total of 41
responses were determined in terms of themes symbolizing major opinions. The following are the
responses grouped as five keywords: a) practice, b) social entertainment) speaking with natives, d)
pleased, and e) vocabulary.
Skills Total
Reading 18 (42%)
Writing 10(23%)
Listening 7(16%)
Speaking 3(7%)
Vocabulary 3(7%)
Grammar 1(2%)
Pronunciation 1(2%)
Total 43(100%)
Table 5.Participants’Opinions about How Language Skills Can Be Learnt
Better.
As the fifth table shows, 16 of the responses are favoring practice. These students think that
studying regularly what was taught, practicing by repeating that day’s subjects and acquiring
competence about the skills are necessary. Learning mostly depends on their own practice.
Interestingly, 11 of the responses are favoring social entertainment tools, such as watching movies
in the target language, listening songs in English, and reading books and newspapers, to learn
English skills. These participants think that these activities are the ones where they can practice
most of the skills at the same time. 9 responses, on the other hand, mention that the best way to
acquire such skills is either to visit an English-speaking country or to speak with native speakers of
English. 4 of the respondents are satisfied with the current methods used to teach them English
while 1 person thinks learning skills depends on learning more words.
4.1. Postcourse Data Analysis
4.1.1. Focus Group Interview
Keywords Total
Practice 16(39%)
Social entertainment 11(27%)
Speaking with natives 9(22%)
Pleased 4(9%)
Vocabulary 1(2%)
Total 41(100%)
After the experiment was conducted via WhatsApp, 6 randomly-selected volunteers were
chosen for the focus group interview, and they were given 5 questions to discuss. The answers were
analyzed and divided into patterns that symbolize major opinions. The recorded answers were
transcribed. After reading the transcription several times, the labeling and categorization procedure
was completed. Tables were created according to the results of the interview. Below are the
questions and answers.
4.1.1.1. What are your opinions about the WhatsApp
activities?
The results of interview discussions indicated that students liked the idea of using WhatsApp
in classrooms. Moreover, the students mentioned different types of benefits of using WhatsApp
activities. According to the participants, the main benefits of using WhatsApp were that it was
helpful both for reducing anxiety and for pronunciation and speaking, and what was learnt was
more permanent, :
“Well, it was a helpful activity. I did not feel anxiety when we sent our voice recordings. It
was a good activity for me.” [Student A]
“It was very useful activity for our class but I do not think it was helpful for anxiety.
However, I can generally say that it was useful because when we are proceeding in
classroom, we cannot always have chance to follow everything. With WhatsApp, on the
other hand, we have chance to research. For example, we did a writing task once. I could
research what to write and this made what I learnt there more permanent” [Student B]
“It was pretty good both for me and for my friends. I could overcome my anxiety by writing
and recording my voice. I think it is helpful.” [Student C]
“I think this was helpful because I could strengthen what I learnt. Making sentences were
pretty helpful so I can say that it was very useful… Not only had our own activities but also
our friends’ activities helped me to understand something.”[Student D]
“When we were recording our voice, I and Batu practiced the pronunciations several times
to be able to pronounce well and send the recordings each other. We sent the best recording
to the group. With the help of this I improved my pronunciation which was more than bad at
the beginning.”[Student E]
“Writing on a piece of paper and reading from it is not something helps, but when we made
this on WhatsApp, like we did with picture talking, I realized that it was much better to talk
spontaneously rather than talking by reading from the paper. It helped me a lot. I think if
everybody do this, it will help us to think in English and to chat in English.”[Student F]
4.1.1.2. How did WhatsApp activities affect your language
learning process?
The second question of the interview aimed to identify the effects of the WhatsApp activity
on participants’ language learning process. The results showed that the activity helped students in
several ways such as acquiring new vocabulary, practicing pronunciation, retaining learned
material, and reducing anxiety. The participants were affected positively by WhatsApp. Below are
the answers students gave.
“It helped me in terms of vocabulary. When I was doing the WhatsApp activity, I was
looking up in my dictionary for the words I did not know, and then I used those words in
WhatsApp so that it helped me to learn the words permanently.” [Student B]
“Generally I agree with Fulya. It helped me to learn new words. I can add pronunciation to
this as well.”[Student A]
“It was very good for speaking. Normally, we cannot speak English in the streets. WhatsApp
was useful for us to speak in English actively and accurately in pronunciation… Actually we
have chance to make dialogues in classroom but most times some of our friends do not do
the dialogues or do not speak as they act shyly. However, they did not do so in
WhatsApp.”[Student C]
“Everybody shared their own work here. As all of us are in the group, we all paid attention,
and this make us learn better. For example I do not forget what I learnt from that day’s
activity… When we did such activities before WhatsApp, not all the students were as careful
as they were in WhatsApp. As the teacher is a part of the group we were all careful because
the teacher could see and check what we shared. We paid extra attention because of this and
doing this affected us positively.” [Student D]
“If we looked at a picture now, we would act the same way we did in the activity. However,
we just look it and do not care that much in normal classroom environment. Besides, both
all of my friends and my teacher is in the group so I acted more carefully when I did the
activities. This helped me in terms of pronunciation and speaking… Normally, any student
may answer a question that you want to answer. However, we can Show ourselves in
WhatsApp.”[Student E]
“Here is the thing. I do not study at home. It is enough for me to learn in the classroom but
I take notes on my phone and I learnt to do this thanks to WhatsApp study. For example I
loved the picture talking exercise that is why I often refer to it. In my free time, I download a
picture and talk about it on my own because it is really easy to do. That day we learnt
present continuous tense in the classroom, at the end of the class we talked about a picture
like “he is wearing this and that”. I would forget the subject, but thanks to our activity I
remember it very permanently.”[Student F]
4.1.1.3. What do you think about learning a foreign
language using WhatsApp after the experience?
The question aiming to learn interviewees’ opinions about learning a foreign language via
WhatsApp was mostly positive. The answers had repeating qualities about what the participants
mentioned in their former statements. One answer, on the other hand, stood out among other
responses as it was favoring the importance of the topic and the way of learning via WhatsApp. The
answer was:
“Actually, topic that we are supposed to write or speak on is important. If it is a current
topic it would be catchier. If the topic is interesting for 8 people out of ten people, there will
not be any problem. On the other hand, if the topic is something we would feel bored, there
is a problem because we will be unwilling and this will prevent us to learn. For example, the
short story we wrote was very good” [Student B]
4.1.1.4. How should learning a foreign language via
WhatsApp be?
This next question was to learn the opinions of the participants about the way WhatsApp can
be used for language learning. All the responses pointed out the same skill: speaking. Participants
generally felt that writing is an achievable skill, and they can do it somehow. However, they feel
like they need to use this application for two reasons: one is that speaking is really important, and
the other reason is that they believe they can speak via this application.
“Well, how can I say… we were around four or five people talking about the lesson in
English in the classroom a few days ago, and it was very good. For example, you made
Batuhan describe something the other day. These kinds of exercises would be very good if
we could do in WhatsApp”. [Student E]
“I think we should use this application for speaking rather than writing. I know because it
worked for me. We learn and use English just in the school, and using WhatsApp
encourages me to do the same at home. I feel I can actually speak. I tried to think in
English rather than Turkish, and when I could not I researched for it. That is why I think we
should use this application for speaking and listening.” [Student F]
“I agree. We can practice writing at school as well”. [Student B]
“We cannot because sometimes we use Google Translate when we are unable to write”.
[Student F]
“I think we should use this for speaking because I think we can write anyway”. [Student D]
“Exactly”. [Student A]
“Everybody can achieve writing somehow but speaking is a problem for almost all of us”.
[Student B]
4.1.1.5. What skills do you think WhatsApp activities
affected most?
The last question of the interview was to learn students’ opinions about the skills WhatsApp
affected. The answers did not vary as all of the participants of the focus group interview identified
the same skill: speaking.
“Speaking” [All Students]
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSSIONS
The results of the precourse data (e.g. open-ended questions) indicated that almost all of the
participants believed that using mobile devices would be useful for learning English. Some of the
participants even thought that such devices are really necessary tools. Al-Fahad (2009) also stated
that mobile device usage in language learning is a good support for students and they are useful and
rapidly developing tools for language classes. This result also coincides with Hsu et al.’s (2013)
study, which confirmed the usefulness of the MALL with ninety percent of the study participants.
The post-course data (e.g. focus group interview) revealed that using WhatsApp did not
make any changes on students’ beliefs about language learning. However, it had a positive effect,
which confirmed students’ beliefs about using a mobile device in language classrooms. Students
pointed out that using mobile device helped them reduce their anxiety and improve their
pronunciation and speaking skills. Moreover, as participants stated, what they learnt via WhatsApp
was easier to remember later on. This result can be considered as interesting because it is either
unique or one of the most scarcely mentioned results in the existing literature.
Both the replies to the open-ended questions and focus-group interviews showed that all of
the students had a positive attitude towards using such devices in language classrooms. In the study
Al-Fahad (2009) conducted, it was demonstrated that students strongly agreed that learning via
mobile devices can be very effective. Therefore, their attitude towards learning via mobile devices
was positive, too. Hsu (2013), on the other hand, showed that usage of mobile devices motivates
some students, but for some others, such usage keeps being new and difficult.
Further, the interview data showed that the way that mobile devices are used is important
because the topic and subject is significant for students to use. In other words, students’ would
maintain their positive opinions towards MALL if the method with which and the topic they are
instructed is interesting. It should be mentioned that the study did not change students’ beliefs about
using mobile devices in language classrooms but confirmed what students thought. As Kukulska-
Hulme and Shield (2008) emphasize, using mobile devices in many aspects of life is a rapidly
growing trend, and educators should pay attention to the effects on learning while incorporating this
trend in language teaching.
Next, both the open-ended answers and interview data showed that language skills could be
learnt better via practice and social entertainment. WhatsApp seems to provide this for students
because it is one of the most widely-used applications where people, especially youth, take part
socially. This study combined practice and social entertainment. These results are congruent with
many tenets of sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistic theory argues that there is a link between social
interaction and language learning (Halliday, 1978; Lantolf et al., 2014; Peirce, 1995). However,
sociolinguistics handles the language and its interaction with society from different perspectives
such as ethnicity, gender, educational degree, and religion. The theory considers how people from
different backgrounds use language in different situations. The results confirmed this as students
learn language from social entertainment such as movies, songs etc. These entertainment tools
provide different situations for students and they learn how language differs in different situations.
WhatsApp is both another tool for such interaction (even if it is not a face-to-face interaction)and
another place where language is spoken.
Finally, after the experience the students confirmed what they believed in precourse and said
that speaking is the most important skill while reading is the easiest one to learn. The results of the
interview showed that the number of the students who believed that speaking is the most important
skill increased while writing replaced reading in terms of what students considered easiest.
This study is limited in the following ways: This study was conducted in a state university of
Turkey with 40 volunteer EFL students for four weeks. The results may change according to the
population, gender, place, and period of time in which the study is conducted. For further research,
this study can be replicated or conducted for other purposes. The study took place over four weeks.
In a longer period of time, the study could give both quantitative and qualitative results, and the
effects of mobile device usage would be greater. For instance, a longitudinal study may be
conducted by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires or think-aloud
protocols could provide insightful and clear results. In terms of population and gender, there were
40 participants, only four of whom were female. The study may have different results with equal
numbers of males and females or greater number of participants. The university in which the study
took place was a state university located in the Eastern Region of Turkey where most students are
generally poor and less educated. Further research should determine to what extent the
socioeconomic status of the students plays a role in the results. As the main tool for the study was
technological devices, it is important for students and their families to afford such devices.. Briefly,
although this study did not investigate quantitatively the impact of WhatsApp use in EFL
classrooms on the BALL, this qualitative study confirmed that using mobile devices and WhatsApp
helps students in several ways like speaking, pronunciation, long-term acquisition, and reducing
speaking anxiety. As it was underlined in the literature review,, many studies have similarly
favorable results regarding MALL in terms of skills. The results of the studies showed that
participants of the studies showed success in skills such as vocabulary (Alemi, Sarab, &Lari, 2012;
Başoğlu & Akdemir, 2010; Çavuş& İbrahim, 2009; Hayati, Jalilifar, &Mashhadi, 2013; Lu, 2008;
Stockwell, 2010; Zhang, Song, &Burston, 2011), pronunciation (Saran, Seferoglu, &Cagiltay,
2009), reading (Hsu, Hwang, & Chang, 2013; Tsou, Wang, &Tzeng, 2006), and grammar
(Baleghizadeh & Oladrostam, 2010). Further, the students felt very comfortable, positive, willing,
and enthusiastic about using WhatsApp in their language classrooms.
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