| With the development of modern science and technology,comes the rapid advancement of mobile information technology.The popularity of mobile devices has contributed to changes in different areas of society.The use of information and communication technology(ICT)to promote educational innovation has gradually become a trend in the field of education,and foreign language education is no exception.In recent years,tablets,smartphones and other mobile devices have attracted great attention from educational researchers and professionals because of the portability,intelligent features and high cost-effectiveness.Those digital technology devices that are adopted by foreign language teachers also usually play an important role in teaching and learning.However,there are some challenges and confusions in the process of promoting and implementing mobile-assisted teaching.Traditionally,secondary school English teachers tend to use traditional teaching methods in English Language Teaching(ELT)classrooms,mainly due to concerns that temporary changes in teaching methods may make it difficult for students to adapt and may have practical issues such as supervision of mobile devices in the classroom.Therefore,this study focuses on teachers’ problems and tries to answer the confusion caused by mobile-assisted foreign language teaching.It is intended to investigate the current situation and attitudes of secondary school English teachers in implementing mobile-assisted language teaching,and to summarize the influencing factors that affect the acceptance of mobile-assisted language teaching among the secondary school English teachers.Mobile-assisted language learning is a branch of the mobile learning.It allows for new ways of learning through the use of personal,portable devices that emphasize continuity or spontaneity of access and interaction across different contexts of use.Research on mobile-assisted learning has gradually developed in China in recent years,focusing mainly on the applicability and effectiveness of mobile-assisted language learning,which most often explores the enhancement of language skills and comprehensive abilities in listening,speaking,reading,writing,and translation,as well as the design of platforms and softwares.Besides,there has been a gradual increase in research on learning and teaching models.However,there is few research on teachers’ attitudes toward the use of mobile devices in mobile-assisted learning.And,there is not enough research on the factors that influence teachers to develop positive or negative attitudes towards mobile assisted language teaching.At present,studies in China on the attitudes of different groups of people toward mobile-assisted learning are mainly focused on the higher education,while college students and university English teachers are the major subjects.Few studies have been conducted on secondary school English teachers’ attitudes toward mobile-assisted instruction and secondary school students’ attitudes toward mobile-assisted learning.There is also a lack of research on the barriers that teachers and students encounter in implementing mobile-assisted learning in secondary schools and the factors that influence its successful implementation.To fill these research gaps,this study uses Constructivist Theory as well as Technology Acceptance Theory as the theoretical framework.The current situation,attitudes,and related influencing factors of secondary school English teachers’ implementation of mobile-assisted language teachers in a capital city in northeast China were explored in order to make effective suggestions.This study intends to answer the following three particular questions:(1)How do secondary school English teachers use mobile assisted devices in teaching?(2)What are secondary school English teachers’ attitudes towards using mobile-assisted English learning?(3)What are the factors that influence secondary school English teachers’ attitudes and practices towards mobile-assisted English learning?This study uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods.This study adopted the questionnaire designed and developed by Zhu Sha’(2016)and her design was modified.Secondary English teachers were surveyed in terms of their attitudes,relevant pedagogical knowledge,mobile information literacy,self-efficacy,learning support,pressure to advance to higher education,and willingness to use it in the future.A total of 100 secondary school English teachers participated in this survey.Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with four secondary school English teachers.The results of the study indicate that:(1)Teachers’ willingness to implement mobile-assisted instruction is very high.The positive effects of mobile language teaching were fully recognized,and the use of mobile assistive devices in the classroom represented a new trend.However,the teachers’ self-efficacy in the implementation process was not high.And the level of support from the school was generally perceived to be unsatisfactory.(2)Teachers have a positive attitude toward mobile-assisted foreign language teaching and have a strong desire to use information technology in teaching.However,some teachers also expressed their doubts and confusion about mobile-assisted foreign language teaching.The teachers’ positive attitude is attributed to the fact that mobile-assisted teaching can provide rich teaching activities,personalized teaching,learning anytime and anywhere,increase students’ participation in class,increase communication opportunities between students and teachers,and accurately track students’ learning.Problems such as the addictive and dependent nature of mobile phones,which diminish students’ critical thinking,and the difficulty of mobile teaching reflecting students’ real learning,have to be faced.Teachers’ attitudes were generally positive in terms of social,school,and technology support for the implementation of mobile-assisted instruction.All teachers being interviewed acknowledged that mobile-assisted instruction is a major trend in the future of teaching and learning,and also offered some suggestions.For example,many learning systems in the current mobile technology are not perfect,and some problems encountered in practice,such as "Pressure to take exams for further education",are in need of improvement.(3)The successful implementation of mobile-assisted teaching is influenced by teachers’ own attitudes,knowledge of mobile-assisted teaching and learning,and the ease of using mobile-assisted tools.There are significant differences in mobile information literacy and self-efficacy in the implementation of mobile-assisted foreign language teaching across teachers’ academic backgrounds.The research significance of this study includes both theoretical and practical significance.In terms of theoretical aspects,this study uses Constructivist Theory as well as Technology Acceptance Theory as the theoretical framework to explore the current practices and attitudes of secondary school English teachers toward mobile-assisted language learning and to understand the influencing factors that affect teachers’ acceptance.It seeks to gain insight into the impact of mobile information technology on the teaching of English as a subject in secondary schools,so as to localize relevant foreign theories of mobile-assisted language learning to a certain extent,and also to provide theoretical considerations for future related research.In terms of practical aspects,on the one hand,it helps educational administrators understand the current situation and problems of mobile-assisted English teaching for secondary school teachers;on the other hand,it helps educational administrators understand the needs of teachers and accurately grasp the unfavorable and favorable factors that hinder and promote mobile teaching.This study also has certain limitations,such as the relatively limited number of teachers who participated in the Questionnaire Survey on Secondary School English Teachers’ Use of Mobile-Assisted Teaching.At the beginning of the study,a large number of visits to the provincial capital revealed that the mobile-assisted instruction implemented in each school was very limited,and some schools even did not have multimedia activity rooms to carry out mobile-assisted instruction.Therefore,the number of teachers who could participate in filling out the questionnaire was limited.Due to the limited time,social variables such as the level of development and the school’s philosophy were excluded from the questionnaire,which may have weakened the persuasiveness of the findings and the reliability of the study.The above research limitations are yet to be addressed in future studies.More in-depth research will be conducted with a view to continuously promoting and improving the teaching and learning of English with the addition of science and technology,and producing more people who are fluent in foreign languages to serve the building of the nation. |
PDF Full Text Request