Let’s
look around. Everyone uses mobile phones everywhere becoming an integral part
of our everyday lives. Mobile phones have great potential and ever-increasing functions
that all the users are skillful at using. Viewing them from the learning
perspective, so we can state that they highly support learning in the second
language classrooms. Mobile phones are social tools that are easy and
comfortable to use. Students really enjoy and are obsessive about using technology
in the classroom because of easy access to materials and the ability to
practice anytime and anywhere.
Thus,
I quite agree with David Read that mobile devices are slowly becoming part of the
furniture in the classroom just as the computer did before. When reading blogs
about using mobile phones in ESL classroom I was really amazed at discovering
Livescribe Pen as a Feedback Tool. It is really a fantastic tool as it allows
to record both handwritten and audio at the same time using a Dictaphone on the
pen and special dotted paper. The students will have the opportunity to make
handwritten notes when listening in a lecture and be able to listen back to the
precise bits of audio later on the word. Mobile phones have really incredible
functions.
However, as a TEFL
professional, I should consider only the ones that can be applied in EFL
classroom context. In my opinion, students using mobile phones first of all
improve their listening skills. It gives them the opportunity to listen to
audio-books and podcasts. Also, they can record themselves, thus improving
their speaking skills. Reinders (2010) highlighted 20 ideas in his article for
using mobile phones in a language classroom. It is really interesting to get to
know these ideas that can be employed in
ESL context. Students can use the note feature to collect every day language.
They can send the notes they have done during the class to their classmates as
a text message. Also, they can also play games for mobile phones that involve a
focus on language. But these games should be suitable for second language
learners to encourage them to engage with the target language. They can largely
use dictionaries and free programs for reinforcing vocabulary. But the main challenges
that teachers will encounter in Armenian classrooms will be the lack of smart
phones in all classes and the access to the Internet and an increase of noise
and disruption in class.
Therefore, we should be
more cautious when implementing them in the classroom environment and should
take into account the students’ proficiency level and easy access to mobile
phones.

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