Abstract:
This study sets out to explore English as foreign language (EFL) and Iranian
teachers' attitudes towards the implementation of MALL instruction. For that
matter, a mixed-methods design, including questionnaires, structured interviews
and observation were employed. A total of 87 EFL teachers participated in the
questionnaire, which was the quantitative phase of the study. In addition, 10 EFL
teachers were interviewed and their classes were observed for the qualitative phase
of the study. The participant EFL teachers have been teaching at a number
of universities and language-teaching institutions in Mazandaran. One-sample ttest
was used to analyze the questionnaire data and the results suggested that the
Iranian EFL teachers adopted moderately positive attitudes towards the
implementation of MALL instruction, but the observation data indicated that most
teachers preferred traditional ways of teaching English in the EFL context. At the
same time, the interview data revealed that the implementation of MALL
instruction in Iran is challenging due to a number of perceived barriers and
obstacles. The most considerable perceived challenges to the implementation of
MALL instruction comprise lack of online facilities and resources, lack of
interaction in online instruction, and teachers’ limited knowledge of online
instruction. The findings provide crucial insights into teachers’ attitudes towards
integrating MALL into their EFL classroom instruction in Iran.
Machine summary:
To date, studies into mobile learning have been mainly focusing on student adoption (Callum, Jeffrey & Kinshuk, 2014; Gikas & Grant, 2013; Hsu, 2014; Hwang & Chen, 2011; Lepp, Barkley & Karpinski, 2014; Oberg & Daniel, 2012; Park, Nam, & Cha, 2011; Reychav & Wu, 2015; Stockwell, 2008).
Among different models, TAM received much attention and has been widely applied and tested in educational contexts with students and teachers for predicting the acceptance, adoption, and use of information technology (Teo, 2015).
Teachers' attitude towards using technologies to facilitate language learning requires further research to be conducted in Iran due to different cultural aspects of educational settings.
Do you believe in the usefulness of MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) instruction for Iranian EFL students?
Excerpts of one of the participant quotations confirmed these positive attitudes: With the advancement in the development of technology and human beings’ dependence on it in everyday life, using MALL can open new windows to the realm of teaching and learning EFL in the Iranian context.
J. Humanities (2018) Vol. 25 (3): (1-18) Discussion Regarding the first research question examining EFL teachers’ attitudes toward MALL instruction, the finding revealed that the teachers generally held positive attitudes towards M-Learning.
Some researchers have shown that teachers’ attitudes towards technologies influenced the effective use of them in teaching and learning (Paraskeva, Bouta & Papagianna, 2008; White & Mills, 2014).
5. Conclusion This study examined the Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes towards using mobile technology for language learning inside and outside the classroom.