SMS blended teaching: Invite wireless technology to class

Abstract

The value of deploying new devices to enhance the English level of students, especially in non-English speaking countries seems to be self–evident and unavoidable. One of the frequently used devices is the mobile phone and one important component of teaching English is vocabulary. To determine the effectiveness of mobile phone for teaching, 94 students were in the study. They were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The control group learned the new vocabulary items in the traditional way while, the experimental group received the learning content through short text messages/ SMS blended teaching mode, called SBT by the author, as well as traditional way. Then, both groups were evaluated with two kinds of multiple–choice vocabulary tests, i.e. fill in the blank and identifying the meaning of words. The results of repeated measurement analysed using the ANOVA statistical method revealed that the SBT group performed better than the control group.. Also, it was shown that SBT was successful for both types of testing vocabulary.

Keywords: adult classroom, teaching, learning, mobile phone, English language, ESL.