Students’ Readiness in Using Mobile Technology to Learn Communicative English in a Polytechnic Amidst Pandemic

Abstract

The integration of technology in teaching has been on the rise as it enables increased engagement and enjoyment whilst learning. As such, mobile technology offers a possible alternative learning experience in adapting with the learner’s needs in the current pandemic crisis. The main objectives of this study are to measure students’ readiness to use smartphones to learn Communicative English and to investigate the relationship between students’ readiness to use smartphones to learn Communicative English and their understanding of subject content. Furthermore, the researchers also seek to identify the relationship between gender and students’ readiness to use smartphones to learn Communicative English. The participants were 60 Semester 1 (ONE) students of Muadzam Shah Polytechnic who took Communicative English 1. A questionnaire was employed to elicit student’s demographic details and readiness. Student’s understanding of subject content is measured by their test scores. The data were analysed and reported using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. Findings suggest that the students are ready both physically and psychologically to use smartphones to learn Communicative English. However, female students are found to be more prepared than male students in terms of their physical and psychological readiness and there is a strong correlation between students’ readiness to use smartphones to learn Communicative English and their understanding of subject content. The researchers concluded that the students are ready to learn Communicative English in the new norm and some recommendations have been proposed so that the use of smartphones can be better integrated in language learning contexts.