(Skkn 2023) some effective ways to help students study english better with smartphones

I. INTRODUCTION
1. Reason for choosing the topic:
Language enables us to interact with people. The importance of English
language cannot be ignored, due to its role in social, political economic and
environmental development. English language functions as a vehicle of
interaction and an instrument of communication. As we know, English is lingua
franca for most parts of the world. The need to communicate effectively in the
modern world is inarguable and in this context the demand of learning English
as an international language among the non-native speakers of English is
growing daily. Britishers and Amercans sponsor English language teaching and
programs for promoting English language learning. Many English language
programs are currently running in Viet Nam, too.
Use of mobile technology started in 21st century and it gave birth to
Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) which refers to learning
languages via mobile devices/phones. Mobile Learning makes learning more
private and individual matter as well as it makes learning possible in formal and
informal situations. Students are found using Smartphone for learning
translation and retranslation, reading online books, and practicing their
communication skills via smartphones. As smartphone offers private learning
opportunities in the same way it offers collaborative learning opportunities too.
Students are now more able to engage in online discussions on social media like
facebook, discussion forums and they are able to practice and learnt better
pronunciation through English language learning Youtube channels. These
social aspects help promote collaborative learning among ESL learners (Baruah,
2012).
Vietnamese learners learn English as a foreign language due to which
they lack proficiency as well as teaching time is also not sufficient to practice
English consequently, it becomes difficult for them to learn English. Due to the
use of technology being common these days researchers and teachers are using it
for language teaching/learning effectively. Using mobile gargets like
smartphones for learning languages is now very common in students to so to

investigate whether smartphone really helps students in learning English or not,
this study is conducted. Students of today are technology addicted and use
several learning Apps on their smartphones these days (Shamim, 2017). English
language learning Apps available on smartphone connected with internet has
made learning easy for students so researchers are also taking interest in
knowing the potential of smartphone for learning English.
Smartphones are now not only used for the basic purpose of
communication but also as an effective learning tool as they have all the features
of computers inbuilt in them. This study explores students’ perspective about
learning English via Smartphone at university level as perception reflect
people’s attitude and acceptability towards something and it effects their
decisions too. Bogardus (1931) said attitude shows one’s favorable or non1


favorable attitude towards something. So it is necessary to investigate students’
perspective about learning through Smartphone.
From the above given reasons, I think very much of the question “How
can we help our students use their smartphones to improve their English?”.
After a long time for this research, do some experiences, I decide to choose the
theme: “some effective ways to help students study English better with
smartphones” for my research.
2. Aim of the research:
This study explores students’ perspective about how Smartphones are
playing an important part in learning English. It also investigates how learners
are using smartphones for developing proficiency in English, their interest in
useing learning apps, their learning activities and patterns. I think there will be
some teachers who argue that learners can be engaged in learning activities and
they can be guided in a better way after exploring their current practices of
learning English via Smartphones.
This study is significant as its results would contribute to m-learning

research, which is the latest field of investigation and inquiry in this era and
studies are required to be conducted in this field. Research conducted about it in
Viet Nam is very rare so current study would work as a basis for future
researchers. This study is innovative in the sense that it analyzes the role of
Smartphones in learning English in Viet Nam. This study would be helpful for
ELT students, teachers to get clear picture of the situation that how smartphone
helps in learning English. Students will get advantage of this study by learning
how others are using smartphones for learning English inside classroom as well
as outside and would get to know and explore new learning Apps on their
smartphone. This study will also increase acceptance among students and
teachers about learning via smartphones and it will result in effective teaching
and learning.
3. The subject of study:
My subjects of study focuss on teachers of English and students who learn
English as a second language in Viet Nam. Particularly, I conducted a study on
students of 10-12 grade in a school where I am working - Thuong Xuan 2 high
school. I conduct this study to investigate my students’ perspective about how
using social media on mobile devices can enhance learners’ engagement in
learning; how integration of Smartphones in learning facilitates learners in
learning English as a foreign language in my school and I also explore my
students’ attitude towards using mobile phones for learning purposes.
4. Research methodology:
- Observing.
- Sharing.
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- Analysis.
- The investigative answer sheets.

II. CONTENT
1. Theoretical Background:
Today, the rapid development of technology has led to the
mechanization of modern society, which is to empower people, involves
changes in the system of social values. Nowadays, we cannot imagine a
modern lesson without the using innovative technologies. These
technologies have become an essential tool in raising students' interest to
study the problems and develop visual- creative thinking. All this leads to a
new system of knowledge, change of consciousness, a rethinking of the
whole picture of the world: there is automation of the man who, in dealing
with people manifests itself in different ways. The using innovative
technologies in the school provide the opportunity to enhance cognitive,
mental and independent activity of students, to intensify the educational
process. These technologies make it possible not only to change the forms
and methods of teaching, but also significantly transform and enrich the
educational paradigm. The experiences show that the English language
allows for the formation and development of the child.
Now almost all the schools have computers, multimedia installations,
and interactive whiteboard, with free Internet access. Therefore the use of
innovative technologies in the teaching of English has become not only
necessary but also feasible. And also one of the innovative technologies
includes Mobile learning. Mobile learning involves the use of a mobile
phone, which has each student for providing mobility for learning.
Teachers of English as a foreign language who want to develop
successful lessons face numerous challenges, including large class sizes and
inadequate instructional materials and technological support. The purpose of
this article is to describe the methods and activities of using mobile phones
as an effective method of teaching FL.
These days it seems mobile phones are used everywhere by everyone,
which leads to the obvious question: How can mobile phone technology support

learning in the foreign language classroom? The answer is ―in a number of
ways because mobile phones come with ever-increasing functions that most
students are adept at using. In this article some teachers describe some practical
ways to use mobile phones to support foreign language learning, both inside and
outside the classroom. Most of the activities will work with most mobile phones
and do not require special knowledge or additional software or hardware.
Recent interest in the potential for mobile phones and other portable devices to
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support learning and teaching has been driven by the fact that mobile phones are
relatively cheap and increasingly powerful. Another benefit is that learners are
used to working with them, often more so than with computers. The famous
scientists in this field Thornton and Houser report that young Japanese learners
prefer to use mobile phones for many activities, from emailing to reading books.
Research on the use of mobile phones for the delivery of vocabulary materials to
English learners in many Asian countries also in our country show that
students enjoy using their phones because of easy access to materials and the
ability to practice anytime and anywhere, in addition, some students like the
screen size limitations, which make the amount of content more manageable
than that of other teaching materials. According to foreign English teachers,
there are several pedagogical reasons to consider using mobile phones in the
second language classroom. Most importantly, phones are social tools that
facilitate authentic and relevant communication and collaboration among
learners.
In many schools in our country are available wireless networks for
students. Wireless communication technology are applied to many fields
such as GPS navigation, wireless monitoring system as well as learning
various materials including learning language skills. Mobile learning can
take place either within the classroom or outside it. In the former case,

mobile phones possessing appropriate software are very effective in
collaborative learning among small groups. Although this type of learning
has nothing to do with the mobility property of such devices, it provides the
learners with the opportunity of close interaction, conversation, and
decision-making among the members of their group due to the specific
design of the learning activity on mobile phones. These types of interaction
among learners and their physical movement can hardly be achieved when
desktop or laptop computers are to be used. Mobile learning technology is
more useful for doing activities outside the classroom. Such activities enable
learning to be more directly connected with the real world experiments.
Moreover, learning through mobile phones outside the classroom has the
advantage of better exploiting the learner's free time; even the students on
the move can improve their learning skills.
SMS-based learning is another development in the use of wireless
technologies in education in which receiving wanted text messages supports
learning outside of classroom and helps learners benefit from their teacher's
experimentation with mobile technology.
Game-based learning is another theme for mobile learning in which
learning materials are so designed to be integrated with aspects of physical
environment. In such environments, learning activities are facilitated using
the mobile technology which serves as a link between the real world of
knowledge and the visual world of the game.
One of the easiest ways to use a mobile phone for learning is to record
samples of the target language by taking pictures. Students can take pictures
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of English text by using the Camera feature on their mobile phones. They
can then make a collage of the images or upload the pictures. If students do
not have a data connection, they can transfer the pictures to a computer and

upload them from there.
These activities for using mobile phones for foreign language learning
generally focus on developing the four skills and in many cases integrate
speaking with listening and reading with writing. The material and activities
can be modified to conform to different syllabi and are easily adaptable for
different ages, learning levels, and interests. It is important to note that the
names of the features used here may not be the same for all mobile phones.
Many researchers were so interested in mobile assisted language
learning approaches that they attempt to provide some strong supports to
conduct further studies on this discipline. Today, mobile learning is easily
possible by delivery of various learning materials or content to learners
through the mobile devices. Various activities related to language learning
are supported by mobile devices among which we can name SMS, internet
access, camera, audio/video recording, and video messaging (MMS).
One of the advantages of mobile learning is that collaborative learning
is very encourages in this kind of learning. That is, different learners are able
exchange their knowledge, skills and attitudes through interaction.
Collaborative learning helps the learners to support, motivate and evaluate
each other to achieve substantial amounts of learning, the property which is
almost absent in other kinds of learning. One can attain a good collaborative
approach simply by using a mobile device as an environment for learning,
which is, of course, highly dependent of the users than the devices. Devices,
in fact, act as pencils and calculators which are the basic equipment in a
learning process of a student. What is important, here, is the communication
between the learners, as an important factor in language learning is the
interaction in the target language.
There are different mobile devices in the market compatible to the
needs of different users. The basic activities can be performed by many
mobile phones. However, for language learning, the cost and technologies
related to the mobile devices should be taken into consideration. Such

learners can use their customized mobile devices for language learning
based on their own abilities.
In the past, the mobile devices were invented for the first time, no one
ever thought some day they would become an important part of routine life.
As soon as the mobile phones became a crucial part of our lives, there felt a
need for using them in language learning tasks. These days mobile devices
such as PDAs, phones, and other handheld devices, are used everywhere for
doing everything ranging from voice calling to making short message, video
chat, listening to audio, web surfing, shopping, and the like. Apart from
these benefits, mobile devices have increasingly grown toward becoming
tools for education and language learning, and all its users from teachers or
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students are getting used to this environment to make education as
ubiquitous as possible. Moreover, the emerging of internet made open and
distance learning a means of receiving education from all parts of the world.
In a short period, the attractiveness of distance learning led to the realization
that various mobile devices provide a very effective resource for education.
This way, many researchers tried to make mobile devices a rich resource for
teaching and learning. It was, in fact, a challenging affair to cover learning
tasks by a mobile phone.
MALL deals with the use of mobile technology in language learning.
Students do not always have to study a foreign language in a classroom.
They may have the opportunity to learn it using mobile devices when they
desire and where they are. As learning English is considered a main factor
for professional success and a criterion for being educated in many
communities, providing more convenient environment for people to learn
English is one of the strategic educational goals towards improving the
students' achievement and supporting differentiation of learning needs.

There are many researches and developments towards the use of
wireless technology for different aspects of language learning. In the
following lines it has been tried to demonstrate the benefits of using mobile
phones in learning English as a second language. Areas of mobile-based
language learning are diverse among which the most common ones are
vocabulary, listening, grammar, phonetics, reading comprehension, etc.
The rising speed of mobile technology is increasing and penetrating all
aspects of the lives so that this technology plays a vital role in learning
different dimensions of knowledge. Today, a clear shift from teacher-led
learning to students, that m-learning allowed causes the students feel using
the technology more effective and interesting than before. In fact, we can
provide a richer learning environment through mobile phones for our
language learners. Though many researchers have been carried out towards
MALL technology as a growing field of study in language learning, there are
still so many works left to be done and a large amount of information to be
uncovered. Moreover, the methods with the help of which mobile device
technology can be used to provide a more robust learning environment have
to be further improved. The ways through which the barriers of CALL have
been removed can help the MALL technology to grow with less effort and
cost. Some language skills such as speaking and listening as mobile-based
activities need some further improvements due to the hardware weaknesses.
Mobile-based learning or m-learning faces many challenges, but it has
grown in exponentially in spite of all its problems to provide a better
environment for language learning.
Mobile learning technology, however, has a rapid pace of
development from a teacher-learner text-based approach to a forthcoming
multimedia supporting technology. In addition, podcast lectures and
digitized audio comments made the online interaction between teachers and
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learners possible in a more convenient way without any time and space
limitations.
Although going through language activities on mobile phones may
take longer time compared to computers, the learners feel a greater sense of
freedom of time and place, so that they can take the advantage of spare time
to learn a second language when and where they are.
Mobile technology gets learning away from the classroom
environment with little or no access to the teacher, though the learning
process can hardly be accomplished without a teacher's direction or
guidance. As the demand for acquiring a foreign language increases and the
people time for more formal, classroom-based, traditional language learning
courses decreases, the need felt by busy users for learning a foreign language
through MALL will inevitably increases. In other word, MALL can be
considered an ideal solution to language learning barriers in terms of time
and place.
2. The reality of learning English before applying this initiative:
English teaching is not a piece of easy work. Especially, many students
are losing their interest and showing negative attitude towards english learning.
Teachers are always complaining that it’s hard to improve students’ scores and
the students are too lazy to learn the words, recite the dialogues and finish
exercises. While technology is transforming how we communicate, socialise,
play, shop and conduct business. These profound changes place pressure on the
traditional models of language learning, such as teaching in a formal classroom
setting. They also present us with amazing opportunities to re-design the way we
teach and learn English. Smartphones are here to stay. For the teachers of
English, that means we need to either ban iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and
whatever next flavor arrives - or - we have to learn how to incorporate the use of
smartphones into our routine. I've discovered that just ignoring their use in class
doesn't help. After all, I am - a teacher of English - trying to encourage my

students to communicate in the English language.
I have been teaching English at Thuong Xuan 2 high school for many
years. This school is in a mountainous area so I know clearly what my students’
purpose is. So far, I have been able to confirm one thing: Most of my students
learn English for the GCSE, only a few study for the University entrance
examination.
Generally, the quality of students’ input is not high so it is very difficult
for both teachers and students in teaching and acquiring English. In fact, we
don’t only teach the very basic knowledge in the textbook but we have to teach
students all the knowledge that they learned before also.

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Besides, there are about 40 students in each class in my school. I think it
is a large class. So, it is very difficult for me to control my class while speaking
and students have no more chances to practice English skills, too. Especially in
oral skill because they have few words. My students cannot communicate in
English, even though they spent 7 years learning English at their schools.
Actually, in English curricula, there are lessons that use tapes and CDs to
practise listening and speaking skills, but my school resources and the habits of
individual teachers mean they are rarely used, especially in rural areas. Students
mostly copy the way their teachers speak, but many teachers mispronounce the
words themselves.
In the past, the teachers of English in my school used to teach English in
traditional teaching method which students stayed passive in learning and did
not have a communication environment and we didn’t care almost ways to
attract students’ attention. I think it is the main reason behind the ineffective
teaching and learning of English in our school because this makes our students
become afraid of speaking English.

We focused on teaching grammar much, and our students also focused on
grammar lessons in order to pass tests and examinations. This traditional way of
teaching I think we put our students in the "passive voice"when learning English,
and they cannot have good communication skills, even though students can be
good at grammar. I think that our students had to try to approach English in the
hard way and they seemed to be tired of this subject. I felt their tiredness though
their actions of learning this subject.
Since many recent years, I have been trying to perfect the questions: What
should teachers do to make students love learning English more ? and How do
the teachers do to make English more attractive and easier? At last, I can find
the answers for my questions ( I will show that in the next part ).
The other problem is that they learn English just to pass regular tests or
examinations, while they cannot use English in reality. Especially, many
students got high scores from exams and tests, but they can only write
grammatical sentences, while they are very bad at listening and communicating.
Many students tell me that they like learning English, and some of them always
have good learning results at school. However, when they meet foreigners or go
to an English club, they find out that they are afraid of speaking English in
crowded places because they was afraid of making mistakes.
Beside that, there is no place of tourism or some factory which foreigners
work or live in here so my students have no chance for communication. That's
why their listening and speaking skills are poor and my students become
frustrated by this.
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I think that bad English skills have become a hot topic on education
forums. Educators have pointed out that it is the nature of Vietnamese people
that they can easily get embarrassed when making mistakes, therefore, they
would rather not to speak English to make mistakes. My students do, too.

But now, the industry of technology is growing rapidly, and
smartphones are taking an important place in our daily lives. My students
who sit in class and use their iPhone or Android are missing out.
That's a simple fact. However, it's also true that students are going
to use their smart phones if they haven't been taken away. At least
that's the way it is that I teach English. Therefore, in this research, I try

my best to solve problems which relate to Smartphones are used in teaching and
learning language in secondary schools
3. The initiative is being applied to teach English in my school.
As what I said above, the smartphone is an useful tool for teaching and
learning English language. My main question always in my mind is how to use
smartphones in teaching and learning to improve students’ English . Here are
ten tips on how to constructively allow the use of smartphones in class.
Admittedly, some of the exercises are just variations on traditional classroom
activities. However encouraging students to use smart phones to complete these
activities will help them learn to use these power-packed, hand-held computers
to actively improve their English skills. Finally, it's important to insist that smart
phone or tablet use is OK, but only as a tool during a specific activity. In this
way, students can continue with their obsessive, addictive behavior. However,
they won't be tempted to use their smartphones for other, non-English learning
tasks during class.
These are some ways I have been using to improve the learning English
problem in my school:
3.1. Use smartphones for (vocabulary/ grammar) with Google image search.
A picture is worth a thousand words. I like to use my smartphone, or have
students use their smartphone to look up specific nouns on Google images or
another search engine. You've all seen how a visual dictionary can greatly
improve vocabulary retention. With smartphones, we have visual dictionaries on
steroids.

3.2. Use smartphones for translation, but only at a specific time.
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I try to encourage students to read using three phases. 1) Read for gist - no
stopping! 2) Read for context - How can the words surrounding unknown words
help with understanding? 3) Read for precision - explore new vocabulary using a
smart phone or dictionary. Only in the third phase do I allow smartphone use.
Students are pleased because they can look up words. However, they're
developing good reading skills by not immediately translating every word they
do not understand.
3.3. Use smartphones for communicative activities using apps.
We all communicate with our smartphones in different ways depending
on different apps. In other words, texting with a messaging app is bound to be
different than writing an email on your computer. Take advantage of this and
promote activities that are specific to a given context. One example might be to
have students text each other to complete a given task.
3.4. Use smartphones for help with pronunciation.
This is one of my favorite uses of smart phones in class. Model
pronunciation for them. For example, focus on suggestions. Ask students to
open a recording app. Read five different ways to make a suggestion aloud.
Pause between each suggestion. Have students go home and practice mimicking
your pronunciation in the pause between each suggestion. There are many, many
variations on this theme.
Another great use for pronunciation is to have students change the
language to English and try to dictate an email. They'll have to work really hard
at word level pronunciation in order to get the desired results.
3.5. Use smartphones instead of a thesaurus.
Have students search on the phrase "words like ..." and a host of online
offerings will appear. Encourage students to use their smart phones during

writing class in this manner while focusing on developing a wider range of
vocabulary. For example, take a simple sentence such as "The people spoke
about politics." Ask students to come up with a number of versions using their
smartphones to find substitutes for the verb "speak."
3.6. Use smartphones to play games.
Yes, yes, I know. This is something we shouldn't encourage in class.
However, you might encourage students to write down phrases they experience
while playing games to bring into class to discuss in more detail. There are also
a number of word games such as Scrabble or word search puzzles that are
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actually instructive as well as fun. You can make room for this in your class as a
"reward" for completing a task, just make sure to tie it to some sort of report
back to the class.
3.7. Encourage students to use smartphones to keep track of vocabulary.
There are a wide variety of MindMapping apps available, as well as a
myriad of flash card apps. You can even create your own flash cards and have
students download your set of cards to practice in class.
3.8. Use smartphones for writing practice.
Have students write emails to each other in order to complete a specific
task. Change up the tasks to practice different types of register. For example,
one student might write a product inquiry with another student replying to the
inquiry with a follow-up email. This is nothing new. However, just using their
smartphones can help motivate the students to complete the task.
3.9. Use smartphones to create a narration.
This is a variation on writing emails. Have students choose photos they
have taken and write a short story describing the photos they have chosen. I find
that by making in personal in this manner, students engage more deeply with the
task.

3. 10. Use smartphones to keep a journal.
One more writing exercise for the smart phone. Have students keep a
journal and share it with the class. Students can take photos, write descriptions
in English, as well as describe their day.
These are two of teaching plans that I use the above ways to attract
my students in learning English, make them interested in learning English:
* The 1st teaching plan:
Unit 8: New ways to learn (English 10 – getting started)
The main ways I focuss on in this lesson are: 3.1. Use smartphones for
vocabulary with Google image search, 3.2. Use smartphones for translation,
but only at a specific time and 3.4. Use smartphones for help with
pronunciation. (Note: In this lesson, students use the smartphones at class).
Let’s begin:
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In this lesson, as soon as I say to my students what tasks they have to do
to reach the lesson’s knowledge, I divide the class into small groups (the
students having a sharing table is one group). Then, I ask the students in each
group to find out the new words in conversation in getting started (unit 8) and
use their smart phones to look up those words. (Note: Different groups may
have different new words, this depends on the words they are available). They
do this duty in about 3-5 minutes
(video 1: Học sinh sử dụng smartphone hỗ trợ tìm từ vựng trong bài theo
nhóm) />When the time is over, they send me their search through Zalo. I show
their keys on the screen (the flowing pictures), some representatives pronounce
those words at seat. I check and help them correct. We usually spend 5 minutes
in the kind of this action.

(H.a 01)

(H.a 02)

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(H.a 03)
(H.a 01, H.a 02, H.a 03: sản phẩm đại diện của học sinh sau khi dùng
smartphone để tra từ vựng)
After having found out the new words, my students go on applying these
words for understanding the conversation in getting started – Unit 8. They still
work in original pairs in 10 - 12 minutes. I go round the class to encourage and
get ready to help them understand the context.
(video 2: Học sinh sử dụng smartphone hỗ trợ phát âm và hiểu nội dung bài
học theo nhóm) />When my students finish the action above, both my and I translate together
the content of the conversation. During translating, I also remind the students
some knowledge that they learnt. This action really helps my students strengthen
their vocabulary and comprehension of the conversation. We usually spend
about 7 minutes in translating.
(video 3: GV và học sinh cùng dịch bài để lần nữa củng cố lại từ vựng và
hiểu sâu nội dung bài học, GV nhắc lại một số kiến thức đã học có trong bài học
(nếu cần) />At last, I switch on the tapescript, the students listen to it 1-2 times before
practising the rest exercises.
I think that how students comprehend sharply the reading or the dialogue
is really important because when they understand sharply they will do the
strengthening exercises easily and their knowledge will be firmer. Sometimes, I
also allow my students to do these strengthening exercises at home, and I will
check those exercises at the beginning of next period.
* The 2nd teaching plan:
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Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY
(English 11 - SKILL: Language forcus)
The main ways I focuss on in this lesson are: 3.1. Use smartphones for
grammar with Google image search.
(Note: Before this lesson, the students used their smartphones to search the
knowledge at home).
For this lesson, my students and I spend about 7 minutes in dealing with
the issues of pronunciation.
Coming up, we go on solving the problems of grammar. To make this
lesson more effective, I asked my students to search for the knowledge of
omitting relative clauses at home in the last period. Today, I ask them to show
me their search results. They send those results to my Zalo, I take them out and
show them on the screen before the class. The representative of some groups
explains their search result at seat.

(H.a 04 và video 4: đại diện nhóm trình bày kiến thức tự học ở nhà từ
smartphones – GV trợ giúp)
/>
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I remark and correct those results. Last, I choose the most perfect result to
declare on the screen. We spend about 20 minutes in comprehending the
knowledge and keeping it in mind. When the students understand strongly, they
can do the application exercises easily.

(H.a 05: học sinh trong nhóm thảo luận làm bài sau khi trình bày kiến thức)

(H.a 06: học sinh trong nhóm thảo luận làm bài sau khi trình bày kiến thức)
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(H.a 07: học sinh đối chiếu kết quả làm bài)
I think that preparing the basic knowledge for the next period is really
effective. The first, students have much time to study it at home. Moreover,
when they have the lesson of this knowledge, their teacher teaches about it, they
have a chance to study it again. Listening again makes students understand the
lesson easier and remember the knowledge sharply. The second, preparing the
basic knowledge before going to school also helps students to accelerate their
active character in working.
The next day, to consolidate this lesson I had students done a test in 5
minutes with ten multiple choice questions on the worksheet, at the beginning
time of the new lesson. From the results of applying my new solution in
teaching, I realize that most students understand and do well.
4. The effect of the initiative from experience:
Using this experience makes teachers work as a guider, a controller while
students work mainly. Besides, most of them are interested in learning English,
they remember the knowlegde more and longer and they know the way how to
study themselves at home. Below is the statistics I have collected in both the
studying result and the students’ interest in the school year 2022 - 2023 that my
experiences have been applied in classes 10C1, 10C2, 10C3, 11B5, 11B7 at
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Thuong Xuan 2 high school. Especially, class 11B5, 11B7 are the disobedient
classes in my school.
The studying result and the investigative answer sheets in the school
year 2022 - 2023:

a) The studying result:
Lớp

SS

Tốt (HS)

Khá (HS)

Đạt (HS)

Chưa đạt
(HS)

10C1

45

5

12

24

4

10C2

37

1

10

21

5

10C3

42

3

11

24

4

Lớp

SS

Giỏi (HS)

Khá (HS)

TB (HS)

Yếu (HS)

11B5

36

1

12

21

2

11B7

35

1

10

21

3

b) The investigative answer sheets ( from the investigation after using
this method in the school - year).
Đồng ý
(phiếu)

Không đồng ý
(phiếu)

Khác

1. Chủ động học tập.

195

0

0

2. Biết cách tự tìm hiểu
kiến thức.

195

0

0

3. Phát huy được tính tự
học

195

0

0

4. Cải thiện được cách phát 195
âm.

0

0

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5. Nâng cao vốn từ vựng và 195
ngữ pháp.

0

0

6. Kết nối được với những
người học ngoại ngữ khác.

195

0

0

7. Tự tin hơn trong giao
tiếp bằng tiếng Anh.

195

0

0

During the whole procedure, I observe that my students study harder, they
are also more active in practicing. Until now, they have known the way to
comprehend the lesson, they do tasks more effectively, they love learning
English more. Many pairs of students practice speaking English at class or
outside class. From that, the quality of lessons is getting better.
Beside the above results, there are some actual results I have reached
throughout this school year:
4.1. Having a positive attitude regarding the use of Smartphone for learning
purposes.
Students use online learning resources according to their convenience. It
also promotes collaboration in learning tasks. Students as independent learners
learn English with fun without limitations of time and place by using these
online learning materials as their smartphones learning Apps as well as
YouTube channels for learning English.
Students also agree that their vocabulary is enhanced by using online
dictionaries translators. They practice communication skills online as it provides
them opportunities to communicate in English on social media to online
community of professors, lectures, other students and they also participate in
massive open online courses (MOOC). All this helps them improve their accent
and pronunciation and motivate them to communicate effectively and with
confidence.
4.2. The smartphone is considered as a good tool for practicing their 4
language skills namely listening, speaking, reading, writing and it also

enhances students’ vocabulary.
Smartphone helps students to learn new words and meanings and their
vocabulary is enhanced by using mobile dictionary as well as due to chatting in
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English on their Smartphone (Small, 2014). Their communication skills are
polished due to continuous practice as their oral skills are polished by listening
English audio/video on their Smartphone (Miangah & Nezarat, 2012) also
agreed that their speaking skill is improved by communication in English
language via their Smartphone. Electronic books available online help students
develop good reading skills. Smartphone facilitates students to read for fun or
information in English. Students practice reading and writing emails, formal or
informal notes, messages, and comments in English language on their phone
which helps them practice their written skills in routine life. Previous researches
also concluded that smartphone helps in improving students’ language skills
stated that students’ writing skills is improved by writing correct English in
messages via their phone and students also showed positive and favorable
attitude about learning via Smartphone.
Students were found willing and motivated to learn online materials via
their Using smartphone for learning is better than computers as it provides quick
help access materials, learn meanings of words and to translate and retranslate.
Online materials are used as additional with printed one as it is useful for
learning/teaching purposes. The use of Smartphone inside classroom is better
than computers due to its availability and light weight. Students agreed that they
would be more excited to use their Smartphone for learning activities. Most of
professors allow their students to use their smartphone for learning purposes in
and outside classroom. Students freely communicate in English via their
smartphone as compared to face to face communication.

III. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
1. Conclusion:
Learning English is essential for all students now due to being an official
language, language of science and social interaction. Smartphones are found
helpful in learning English according to learners’ own convenience and ease.
They showed a positive response towards learning English via their smart
devices due to internet connectivity, quick access to learning materials and apps,
software and sites. Basic purpose of this study was to investigate the role of
Smartphone in English language learning, and students’ perspective about it. On
the basis of findings of this study it is concluded that Smartphones play a vital
role in helping students learn English in formal as well as in informal settings as
an effective educational tool. They practice communication skills independently
also found that learners use their smartphones for their individual learning
needs. Learnres enjoy learning through their smartphone due to its portability
and convenience of use as compared to computer or a book in hard form.
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2. Suggestions:
- The school should have a smartphone learning policy.
- Students need to be guided to use smartphone effectively for learning
purposes. So, proper training, and pedagogical framework is a must to take
advantage of learning via smartphones.
- In order to benefit from Smartphone use in education in general, and language
learning in particular one need to have in mind the following:
1. Use it at short period of time and for learning purpose.
2. Use Smartphone applications which enable practicing language skills.
3. Use it either at home or in classroom, but keep using it in a controlled way,
not wasting too much time for chatting, or playing games as this would lead in
negative effects.

To sum up, every technology has its own good and bad effects so we need
to recognize them and tap them for good ends. The smarrtphone also has its own
good and bad effects. If we brilliantly plan, we shall use them for learning and
evaluating the language skills. Proper plan and judicious use of the mobile
phone will definitely bring about desirable learning outcomes.

Approved by

I speak with full conviction that this initiative is
written by me. I do it myself, not copying from
any others.
Written by

Vũ Thị Hồng

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