1. MINI RESEARCH PROPOSAL
MOBILE LEARNING:
A STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF USING
SMARTPHONES IN
LANGUAGE LEARNING AMONG IIUM STUDENTS
ENGL 4740
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE STUDIES
Prepared by:
MUHAMMAD AZWAN BIN SHARI (1016987)
MADIHAH BINTI MOHD IZAM (1016070)
NABILAH SYAZA BT MOHAMAD SHUKRI (1017612)
SITI SYAIRAH BT FAKHRUDDIN (1018160)

2. CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND STUDY
 Mobile devices have transformed from a mean of communication
to tools for socialization, entertainment, work and learning.
 The evolution of phones does not only affects its shape and size,
but also affects its function and usage.
 The invention of phones had also triggered the invention of other
mobile devices that has now become a major necessity in humans’
life.
 This phenomenon has led to a new culture in learning known of
mobile learning.
 Mobile learning can be defined as the process of acquiring
knowledge from a device that is portable and movable allowing
the process of learning to take place anytime and anywhere.

3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.Despite the endless possibility of using
smartphones, it is different from traditional
learning environment.
2. The reliability of smartphones in assisting
students in language learning.

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.How do smartphones help in engaging
students in language learning?
2. How do smartphones help to improve
student's language competency?
3. What are the perception of students
towards the usage of mobile devices in
language learning?

5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The study aims to:
1. Examine the ways smartphones help students
to engage in language learning
2. Identify the ways smartphones help in
improving students’ language competency
3. Explore the students’ perceptions toward the
usage of smartphones in language learning.

6. SIGNIFICANCE
The study is significance in bringing benefits to the:
1.Target group and students at large
- Create awareness
2. Authorities / developers
- help application and website developers to develop
applications and websites suitable for language
learning based on students’ needs.
- the government will be able to widely introduce and
promote the usage of mobile learning (specifically
smartphones) to university students.

7. LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Warschauer (1996) provides a brief overview on how computers
have been used and are being used for language teaching. His
article focuses on the pedagogical questions that teachers have
considered in using computers in the classroom.
2. Kurtz (2012) study on ways of English language learners’ usage on
smartphones in assisting their language learning.
3. Kukulska-Hulme& Shield (2008) as cited by Viberg and Bronlund
(2012) the integration of such technologies into teaching and
learning has been more gradual, as educators need to understand
how they can be effectively used to support various kinds of
learning and develop effective methods and materials for mobile
assisted language learning (MALL)

8. LITERATURE REVIEW
• 4. Huang et al. (2012) as cited by Viberg and Bronlund
(2012) stated that mobile technologies provide many
advantages like flexibility, low cost, small size and user
friendliness.
• 5. Pollara (2011) used a mixed-methods study to
investigate how undergraduate students are using mobile
devices for learning both inside and outside the classroom
and how actual student use compares to faculty
perceptions of student use

9. CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
• Sample
- 150 IIUM students
- students from department of English Language
and Literature, Arabic language and Centre for
Languages and Pre-University Academic
Development (CELPAD).
- 50 students from each departments
• Framework
-The framework of the study is done based on the
gaps made by previous researchers.

10. • Duration of Research
– six months
• Research Design/Procedures
– questionnaire will be distributed directly through
online by using Google Docs
– 150 participants are chosen randomly
– an interview session will be conducted to all
respondents.

11. • Research Method
– a mixed-method : qualitative & quantitative
– The questionnaire : divided into 3 sections.
• demographic profile
• first section asks respondents about their basic
knowledge on smartphones.
• second section ask respondents about how
smartphones help students to engage in language
learning and improving students’ language
competency.
– The interview:
• third section which contains six interview
questions.

12. • Matrix Table
RESEARCH
QUESTION(S)
METHOD OF DATA
COLLECTION
METHOD FOR DATA
ANALYSIS
1. How do smartphones help
in engaging students in
language learning?
Survey
Questionnaire
Google Docs
2. How do smartphones help
to improve student’s
language competency?
Survey
Questionnaire
Google Docs
3. What are the perceptions
of students towards the
usage of mobile devices in
language learning?
Interview Questions Analyzed manually

13. CHAPTER 3: EXPECTED FINDINGS
• Majority of the IIUM students to own at least one
smartphone.
• Have the basic knowledge on how to operate the
phones.
• Know how to operate the applications available in
smartphones.
• Hope to receive are on the methods that may help
them in achieving the former statement.
• Expecting the respondents to come out with positive
perceptions on the use of smartphones in language
learning.
• Expect to answer all the research questions

14. REFERENCES
Kurtz, Lindsey M., "Learning from twenty-first century second language learners: A case study
insmartphone use of language learners"(2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations.Paper
12669.
Mobile Learning & Online Education (2014) from eCollegeFinder. Retrieved May 1, 2014 from
https://www.ecollegefinder.org/mobile-learning.aspx
Pollara, P. (2011). Mobile learning in higher education: A glimpse and a comparison of student and
faculty readiness, attitudes, and perceptions. Retrieved from
http://etd/lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11042011-10.
Student Survey: Mobile Devices in Learning. (2014). Learning and Teaching With the Web. Retrieved
May 3, 2014 from
http://titova.ffl.msu.ru/for-students-ml-survey.html
Viberg, O. &Gronlund, A. (2012). Mobile Assisted Language Learning: A Literature Review. Retrieved
May 1, 2014 from
http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCwQFjAA&u
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Warschauer M. (1996) "Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction". In Fotos S. (ed.)
Multimedia language teaching, Tokyo: Logos International: 3-20