By Mayra Yaranga.
Mobile phones are part of everyday life, and teachers
can take advantage of their many features to help students improve their
speaking skills, whether in or out of the classroom.
Mobiles can provide an effective resource in
accuracy-based speaking activities. For instance, they can be used to practice
different pronunciation features by having students record themselves shadowing
an audio recording. Later, the recordings can be shared through WhatsApp for
feedback from the teacher.
As for fluency work, m-learning can become a very
useful ally for teachers. First of all, it can supply the lack of background
information that students may need for a speaking activity such as a talk or a
debate. Preparation time for such activities could include some kind of
webquest* with the help of students’ phones. The fact that nowadays people
store photographs and videos in their mobiles can give them immediate access to
these materials in class, so that any speaking activity (a talk or
conversation) set by teachers can gain from the visual stimuli stored in the
phones. Tasks which involve students reporting current or personal events can
also be recorded and shared, and students can add comments if a common WhatsApp
group is created by them. This provides a sense of describing real things, real
people, and using real communication.
In conclusion, it is sound to regard mobile phones as
useful tools to develop speaking skills, provided that this is done responsibly
and with effective monitoring to avoid any distractions from our actual goals.
*WebQuests are activities, using Internet resources, which
encourage students to use higher
order thinking skills to solve a real confusing problem.
WebQuests are a sub-set of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). (http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/whatis_awq.asp)
Now it’s YOUR turn
Have you ever used mobile phones in class to
develop speaking skills? If so, what were the results?
Reference:
Azabdaftari, B.; Mozaheb,
M. (2012). Comparing Vocabulary Learning of EFL Learners by Using Two
Different Strategies: Mobile Learning vs. Flashcards. The EUROCALL Review,
v20 n2 p47-59
Jung, H. (2015). Fostering
an English Teaching Environment: Factors Influencing English as a Foreign
Language Teachers' Adoption of Mobile Learning. Informatics in Education,
v14 n2 p219-241
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed
Doctorate studies in Education at UNIFÉ; she holds a Master’s Degree in Media,
Culture and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by
PUCP, a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from UPCH and the Professional Title of
Licenciada from IPNM. Currently she works as IELTS trainer, Cambridge Oral
Examiner and Member of the Research Area for Centro de Idiomas de la
Universidad del Pacifico. She is also ESP coordinator and Pre-University Centre
Director at UNIFÉ. She has published papers in the fields of English Language
Teaching and Cultural Studies.
