From Scepticism to Acceptance: A Transformation in Rural Attitudes Towards Mobile-Assisted Vocabulary Learning

John Misana Biseko — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0300

Vocabulary knowledge is crucial for successful language learning. However, learners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts often face challenges in acquiring sufficient vocabulary. Rural EFL learners in particular tend to have limited access to quality learning resources and technologies compared to their urban counterparts. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the study explored rural parents' and primary school teachers' perceptions of their children's use of mobile applications for vocabulary development. Data was collected through questionnaires and focus group discussions from 283 parents and 32 teachers, both before and after they observed their children using a mobile app for vocabulary learning. The results revealed that initially, parents and teachers were sceptical about the use of mobile devices for learning. However, their perceptions underwent a significant positive shift after witnessing the potential benefits of the mobile application, including improved vocabulary retention and engagement among the rural EFL learners. Notably, the study found no substantial differences in perceptions between parents and teachers, suggesting that both groups require informed exposure to mobile learning approaches to overcome their initial hesitation. These findings indicate that while mobile-assisted language learning may face initial resistance in resource-constrained rural EFL contexts, it can be readily adopted if parents and teachers are given the opportunity to experience its merits first-hand. This provides valuable insights to inform the development of strategies supporting the meaningful incorporation of mobile learning in rural EFL classrooms, by addressing educational disparities, as mobile devices are now more widely available in these areas.

Factors Triggering Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attrition Risk in Different Organizational Settings: The Case of Private Institutes vs. Public Schools

Ebrahim Nejati, Farzad Sabeki, Rezvaneh Karimzadeh — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0300

The present paper made an extensive effort to recognize the most immediate factors (teacher characteristics, i.e. teaching experience, teacher preparation, teaching conditions, student variables, external support, and salary) which perceived to trigger EFL teacher’s attrition risk in both Iranian private language institutes and public schools. The second aim of this study was to observe whether there existed any significant difference between private English language institute teachers and public school English teachers in terms of their view points on attrition-triggering factors. In order to accomplish this, a grand total of 100 EFL teachers were conveniently sampled from both private and public schools in Fars and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces in Iran. In order to gather the required data, the researchers distributed a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire among the respondents which was adapted from Hancock and Scherff (2010). The finding from this study uncovered that the most significant predictor of teacher attrition in public schools was teaching conditions (47.6%), while the most significant predictor of teacher attrition in private institutes was teaching experience (41.4%). These findings are discussed with reference to relevant studies and the implications are mentioned.

Language Education and Technology

From Scepticism to Acceptance: A Transformation in Rural Attitudes Towards Mobile-Assisted Vocabulary Learning

Factors Triggering Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attrition Risk in Different Organizational Settings: The Case of Private Institutes vs. Public Schools