‘For actual, proper study, and schoolwork, I wouldn’t use my phone at all really’: finding a role for smartphones within the traditional concept of study among Irish learners of other languages

Despite the abundance of digital resources which are either designed as or can be repurposed as language learning resources on smartphones, the limited extent to which these resources are exploited by language learners has been noted in research. This paper will describe a study carried out at an Irish university which revealed notably low levels of engagement with smartphones as either formal or informal language learning resources. The study, undertaken as part of a completed PhD, was conducted with third-level learners of modern languages at the University of Limerick in Ireland, and involved surveys, case studies, and a group interview. The findings revealed the limited and tangential role that smartphones play in the learning habits of the participants, who instead demonstrated a preference for more traditional study materials and practices that met their narrow and rigid perception of what ‘actual, proper study’ entails. One of the key factors behind the participants’ limited use of smartphones as a learning resource was identified as the lack of emphasis on smartphones as learning resources at secondary level education, where any focus on the devices is inevitably centred on online safety, and where the devices are much more likely to be banned from the classroom than used in it.

This presentation will argue firstly that smartphones, which are ubiquitous and fixed in the minds and hands of our students, cannot simply be ignored at either teacher level or the level of curriculum development and teacher education, and secondly, that the perpetuation of the concept of ‘actual, proper study’ must be remedied. To address both concerns, steps must be taken to integrate smartphones into the classroom in order to develop learners who are not only more aware and judicious users of smartphones for communication and entertainment activities in general, but also use smartphones more effectively for learning both inside and outside the classroom. Ultimately, the goal is to foster agentive learners who have developed a broader, more inclusive perception of learning which views the classroom as only facet of a learner’s personal learning system (Godwin-Jones, 2020), and for whom smartphone use is normalised within that system.

The presentation will introduce the concept of Smartphone-Enhanced Language Learning (SPELL). SPELL envisions a form of learning in which, rather than learners engaging in smartphone-related learning activities that are parallel to but distinct from their mainstream language learning, smartphone-mediated learning activities are incorporated into and function as one strand of their mainstream learning. The presentation will end by making a series of recommendations aimed at integrating smartphones into the classroom. These recommendations involve changes aimed at the integration of smartphones in terms of teacher education programmes, curriculum development, and daily practice in the classroom, that will help to broaden learner perceptions of what constitutes ‘actual, proper study’, and allow the smartphone to take a more meaningful role as a language learning device within this new perception.