6/15/10 [Author’s Proof]
Hayo Reinders
United Kingdom
Twenty Ideas for Using Mobile Phones in the Language Classroom
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 second
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 I describe
20 practical ways to use mobile phones to support second 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. I will also discuss drawbacks
such as cost, increased workload, and other problems that might impact the use of phones in
the classroom, and will suggest ways of mitigating them.
Mobile-assisted language learning
Recent interest in the potential for mobile phones and other portable devices to
support learning and teaching has been driven by the fact that mobile phones are relatively
cheap and increasingly powerful (Chinnery 2006; Kukulska-Hulme and Traxler 2005).
Another benefit is that learners are used to working with them, often more so than with
computers. Thornton and Houser (2003) 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 Taiwan shows
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
(Chen, Hsieh, and Kinshuk 2008).
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. This makes them an ideal tool to
support situated learning theory, which states that learning is more likely to take place when
information is contextually relevant and can be put to immediate use (Lave and Wenger
1991). For example, second language learners can use mobile technology to access relevant
vocabulary and expressions while at a bank opening an account, to look up movie reviews
while at the theater, or to discuss weekend plans with an English-speaking friend. Since
mobile phones are part of students’ everyday routines, they help minimize the separation
between the classroom and the outside world. Applied linguists agree on little when it comes
to theories for explaining language learning, but one thing seems clear—more exposure to the
target language and more practice, or time on task, explains most of the variation in students’
success. Any tool that can increase students’ access to the language will contribute greatly to
their progress.
Another compelling argument for using mobile phones in the classroom is that they
give students control over their own learning. Students control the medium, and teachers, by
elaborating how best to use the medium, provide a blueprint for autonomous learning,
especially during the wide range of daily social activities where mobile phones are most
likely to be used.
Preparation
Before asking students to pull out their cell phones in class, you need to have a plan.
As with any other teaching activity, ask yourself what you are trying to achieve. Are you
focusing on speaking, listening, reading, writing, or some combination of the four skills? Or
do you simply want students to reflect on their language use outside the classroom? Start by
identifying a specific teaching objective and then structure a mobile phone activity around
that. Ask yourself if there is an added value to using a phone for the activity you have in
mind. If there is none, perhaps it is better to find an alternative.
The next step is to take stock of the resources that you have available. There is an
enormous range of phone makes and models, and the technology is always advancing. Many
of the following ideas will work with all but the most obsolete phones, but some require the
use of more recent models. In my own teaching I have sometimes asked students to work
together in small groups and share one phone that had the required capabilities.
Twenty practical ideas for using mobile phones in the language classroom
The following ideas for using mobile phones for second 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.
Idea 1: Use the Notes feature to collect everyday language
Most mobile phones have a feature that allows them to take notes. Ask students to use
this feature to take notes on the English they read or hear outside of school and either present
the notes to the class or send them to you as a text message. Instead of giving regular
homework, you can ask students to hunt for specific language forms (e.g., common nouns,
the past perfect tense, formulaic expressions), and the student who collects the largest number
of correct samples wins. Learners have a tendency to tune out when a classroom lesson is
over; this activity helps circumvent that problem by breaking the boundary between class
time and daily activities.
Idea 2: Use the Camera feature to take pictures of text
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 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 to a shared Flickr account (www.flickr.com). If students do not have a
data connection (or if you do not want them to incur data costs), they can transfer the pictures
to a computer and upload them from there.
Idea 3: Use free programs to organize language samples
An extension to Ideas 1 and 2 is to use a free program like Evernote
(www.evernote.com) to upload notes and pictures to your account (which can be accessed
from any computer). One neat feature is that the program recognizes words in pictures (such
as on billboards or even handwritten notes) and converts it to text, generally very accurately.
Students can use this program to organize personal notes on their account and share it with a
group or the whole class. Different accounts can be exchanged, compared, and discussed in
class. Again, to avoid data costs notes could be transferred from the mobile phone to the
computer for uploading.
Idea 4: Use the Voice Memo Recorder feature to record language from media outlets
Most phones include a memo recording feature that can collect language samples
from TV or radio. The students’ collected samples give you an opportunity to analyze the
language, discuss where they were collected, and provide feedback.
Idea 5: Use the Voice Memo Recorder feature to record conversations outside the
classroom
Students can record interviews or conversations they engage in outside the classroom.
Obviously you will have to consider privacy issues and impress upon learners the importance
of obtaining their interlocutors’ permission before they do interviews, either with each other
or native speakers. Students can play the interviews and conversations in class for feedback
and discussion. I have used this idea to send students on quests to collect information from
sources in the community, including from native speakers (Reinders and Lewis 2009).
Although we used iPods with a microphone, the same task is now easily accomplished with
mobile phones. The principle remains the same: try to get students to use the language as
much as possible!
Idea 6: Use the Text Messaging feature to reinforce vocabulary learning
A study by Thornton and Houser (2003) shows that Short Message Service (SMS)
text messages can be used to send out vocabulary items at spaced intervals, thus increasing
student retention. For example, you could text the words covered in class to encourage
students to review them outside the school context. By sending out the words multiple times,
you increase the chances that students will remember them.
Idea 7: Use free programs to make flashcards for mobile phones
If you do not want to create your own vocabulary lists, there are several companies
that produce flash card software that runs on mobile phones, such as www.flashmybrain.com
(there is charge to set up an account). You or your students can create vocabulary flashcards
that can be retrieved, shared, and practiced anywhere.
Idea 8: Use the Text Messaging feature for circular writing
The reality is that many students do not like to write. They associate writing in the
school context with boring assignments and a punitive environment of criticism and negative
feedback. In other words, the fun is missing. However, if one considers writing as any form
of textual communication, it becomes clear that students actually write a lot. The number of
text messages, status updates on social networking sites, and instant messages (IMs) sent by
the average young learner is staggering; clearly, a lot of writing is going on! The challenge is
to encourage that type of writing that helps students learn English.
If students are not ready to write essays, they can practice with shorter texts to
develop their writing skills. One activity is circular writing, where students create a story
together by contributing one text message at a time. Each student writes a sentence or two
and then sends this on to the next student, who adds another message, and so on until the
story is complete. The teacher is copied and has a record of the story as it emerges. You can
experiment with different text types such narratives (as in the example above), or shorter
forms such as news reports, instructions, and warnings.
Idea 9: Use the Text Messaging feature for tandem learning
Interactive writing can be encouraged through tandem learning. In this activity two
students who wish to learn each other’s native language pair up and exchange text messages.
I recently used this technique with a group of 16-year-old high school students from Taiwan
preparing for a trip to the UK and a group of London-based students taking Chinese language
classes. Here is a good example of the situated learning I referred to earlier:
Theo: [having lunch in a Chinese restaurant] What do you call those dumplings again?
Jun: They called yum cha. Hen hao chi! [They taste great!]
Idea 10: Use the mobile phone to keep a blog
A more advanced form of using the mobile phone for writing tasks is keeping a blog.
This does require a phone with a connection to the Internet (or the use of a wireless network
at home or perhaps at school). Students use the Text Messaging and Camera features to add
messages and post pictures to their personal blogs. This is great for writing about personal
experiences, places visited, and people met, but it can also be used as an activity in which
students collect information and report on it like journalists. Teachers can read these blogs
and provide feedback, request more information, or ask students to comment on each other’s
work.
Idea 11: Use the mobile phone for microblogging on Twitter
No report on mobile writing would be complete without mention of Twitter, the
popular microblogging service. Microblogging involves sending short messages (with a limit
of 140 characters, including punctuation and spaces) from a computer or a mobile phone.
Initially intended to provide friends with status updates (“Now going to the gym,” “Watching
Lost in Translation,” “Feeding the hamster”), Twitter is now used by many different
professions, including educators, to keep people informed about who is doing what. You can
use Twitter for a wide variety of assignments, such as asking students to report on their daily
activities. To focus on specific aspects of language, you could ask students to write down
each idiom they find in a book they are reading or to report when they hear someone use a
negative adverb such as seldom or hardly. You may not be able to (or want to!) read all the
comments, or tweets, yourself, but you could ask students to follow some of their classmates’
tweets and respond to them.
Idea 12: Use the mobile phone for social networking
Like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are enormously popular social networking tools
that allow groups of “friends” to meet, post messages, share pictures, and generally interact
online in a myriad of ways. Most of the interaction takes place in writing, and simply asking
students to use English instead of their native language produces a great deal of writing
practice. Some teachers actively use such sites to keep in touch with students or to organize
activities online. The sites can be accessed through mobile phones, and it could be good fun
to ask students to post on each other’s pages in relation to a topic you have just discussed in
class. This activity is best used within range of a wireless network, so it may not work for
everyone.
Idea 13: Use the mobile phone for a language exchange
Using phones for speaking may not seem like an original idea, but one way to
encourage reluctant students to start speaking is to establish a language exchange. In this
activity two students who want to learn each other’s native language talk in that target
language for half of the time. This activity may be expensive unless students can use Skype
on their mobile phones.
Idea 14: Use the mobile phone for “phlogging”
To encourage students to practice individual speaking, they could start phlogging, a
recent form of blogging that entails calling a number and leaving a message on a website.
Some programs like the currently free www.ipadio.com will even automatically transcribe the
recording. This is an excellent task-based learning tool for students to update oral and written
reports about a given project.
Idea 15: Use mobile phone memory to distribute listening material
Many phones have memory for graphics, photos, and music that you can use to
download listening material for your students, who can in turn transfer them to their phones
or other media. This could be a recording of your class, a podcast, or course listening
materials. In addition to providing hundreds of existing podcasts for English language
learners, the iTunes U website (www.apple.com/education/itunes-u) will upload your own
podcasts to which students can subscribe.
Audiobooks are another source of listening materials. These can be downloaded in a
variety of formats and can then be transferred and played back on any phone that has
sufficient audio capabilities. Numerous commercial websites sell audiobooks read by
professional readers, but there are also websites where public domain audiobooks can be
downloaded for free, such as http://librivox.org.
Idea 16: Use mobile phone memory to distribute reading material
Similar to the listening idea above, you could download reading materials for your
students. There are numerous sites with free reading material, including Project Gutenberg
(www.gutenberg.org), which also has many audiobooks available. Many books are now
published in mobile friendly formats. As one exercise, you can ask students to use the voice
recorder to take notes about the book while they are reading. The books, along with students’
reflections, can then be discussed during the next class.
Idea 17: Use the mobile phone to play games
Many of the free games for mobile phones, such as Scrabble and crossword puzzles,
involve a focus on language. Although not all of them may be suitable for second language
learners, they at least encourage students to engage with the target language, and to do so in
the context of entertainment. Once students determine that their phones have the capability to
play games, they must download and install the programs.
Idea 18: Use the Voice Memo Recorder, Notes, and Calendar features to keep a portfolio
Most learning inevitably takes place outside the classroom. Students need to process
new information and assimilate it into their interlanguage, which is their current stage of
second language development as reflected by their control of grammar, syntax, and
vocabulary. Encouraging students to reflect about their language acquisition helps them to
take control of their own learning and positively affects the assimilation process.
Many students either do not enjoy or do not have the discipline to keeping a formal
journal or portfolio to reflect on their learning, even an online one such as the European e-
portfolio (www.eelp.org/eportfolio). Mobile phones, by virtue of their portability, lower this
barrier. Ask students to document their learning progress by using the Notes and Voice Memo
Recorder features. In this way, instant reflection replaces the formal e-portfolio. However, it
is important to explain what you expect in terms of the amount and frequency of reflection
(and explain why!), so that students take the activity seriously. Ask students to document their
use of the language outside the classroom and any problems they encounter, such as a
communication breakdown or misunderstanding, as well as any successful communicative
interactions. Be creative! Some teachers use portfolio assessment to give credit for work done
outside the classroom, which is also possible with a mobile phone portfolio.
In addition, you could encourage students to use the Calendar feature or other
productivity tool available on most phones to set goals, deadlines for assignments, and
reminders to rehearse material covered in class.
Idea 19: Use the mobile phone to check student comprehension and get feedback
The previous ideas focus on learning, but mobile phones can also help you in your
teaching. One way is to add an element of interactivity to your classes through audience
participation. Polleverywhere (www.polleverywhere.com) is a free program that allows the
teacher to pose survey questions to students. Students respond by texting their responses and
the results show up immediately in a PowerPoint presentation or on a website. This is very
useful for checking student comprehension and to get their opinions. You could, for example,
ask students to choose from one of several options for the next classroom activity. This tool is
particularly useful in larger classes where it is not easy to get feedback from all students.
Idea 20: Use mobile phone memory for research and data collection
Mobile phones are now becoming indispensible for research and data collection.
Being small and light, they are excellent portable tools for researchers to collect
socioeconomic, health, and other critical information from communities worldwide.
Searching for the term “data collection” at http://mobileactive.org will show examples of this
type of research and data collection. As an advanced project, students can replicate similar
projects on a smaller scale, or come up with original mobile phone research tasks. The
phlogging tool mentioned in Idea 14 is another way to record research data or, by using a
microphone, classroom interaction.
Potential problems and solutions when using mobile phones in the classroom
Following are some potential problems associated with using mobile phones in the
classroom, along with some possible solutions and suggestions.
Lack of access to mobile phones
Not all students in all classes will have mobile phones, and the concerns around lack
of access are valid; however, it is probably safe to say that of all the technologies available to
teachers, mobile phones are the most widespread. I remember visiting Lake Tana in northern
Ethiopia in 2005. There was no Internet, no computers, not even electricity for much of the
day. I took a boat trip across a remote part of the lake and on my return realized I had left my
money in the hotel. My guide pulled out his cell phone and said “Why don’t you just text me
the money?”, referring to a widely used practice in many parts of Africa that allow payment
by sending someone text credits. I was stunned as this was unheard of in the “developed”
country I lived in at the time.
It is also important to make sure all students have access to phones that have the
capabilities you need. In 2010 it is likely that most phones have most of the features
mentioned above, but do check. One solution is to share phones between students for certain
activities.
Cost of mobile phones and wireless services
It is important to realize that not all students have access to mobile phone technology
and to not place a financial burden on your students and their parents by requiring students to
have phones. Activities such as texting, going online, and of course making calls cost money.
Not every student has an unlimited calling plan. Some of the ideas above involve sending and
receiving text messages, which could be a problem because not all students subscribe to a
texting plan. In some countries this can be expensive (subscribers in the United States, for
example, pay even for receiving messages).
Transferring text messages to a computer is one way to avoid texting charges. Another
alternative is to create a free text number for your school. The messages are then free for
students to send, and the costs are borne by the school. Another free alternative is to send text
messages from a website that offers free texting, such as www.textmefree.com; a downside is
that these types of websites typically display advertising. A fourth alternative is to request
funding from your institution or a government entity; for example, my university makes text
message bundles available on request.
Noise and disruption in class
Despite the exciting potential for mobile phones to increase opportunities for learning,
the prospect of allowing noisy phones into a classroom may seem a bit daunting, especially if
one has little experience using them as a teaching tool. As with music, movies, and
computers, their usefulness depends on having clear tasks for your students to work with.
Phones can be disruptive. For example, it would be counterproductive if they rang in class in
the middle of a silent reading activity. Clearly some ground rules are needed. It is also
possible that your school either prohibits cell phone use in class or does not yet have a policy.
In that case you will need to communicate your intentions to the head of your department.
Privacy considerations
It is paramount to consider issues of privacy before using mobile phones in class. If
you teach younger learners, you may need to get parents’ consent to use mobile phones in
school. Some students may be reluctant to share private information with others, so it is
important to explain to them what your intentions are and find out if they have any concerns
about using their phones for learning activities. Similarly, you need clear rules about when
and how phones can be used so that students do not use them for inappropriate purposes.
Increased teacher workload
Finally, the use of mobile phones, or any new technology, has the potential to increase
your workload. There may be a learning curve, which is an investment that will hopefully pay
itself back in increased student motivation and engagement. However, there is also the
question of how to deal with the extra communication that use of phones generates. For
example, what happens if all of your students start texting you? Just like with emails in the
1990s, you will need to set boundaries and make it clear to students what they can send to
you when, what you can and cannot respond to, and what you will respond to individually
and in class. Even receiving 50 text messages may not be an issue if they all relate to the
same assignment you set in class and you can follow up with the whole group. There are also
tools that can help you manage text messages. Programs like Notepage (www.notepage.net)
let teachers respond to multiple text messages or send out bulk messages from a computer,
thus greatly reducing the time needed to respond.
Conclusion
All the ideas above allow you to offer increased opportunities for language learning
by taking advantage of a tool that students are intimately familiar with and carry around at all
times. Dealing with the challenges of using mobile phones may seem daunting, but teachers I
know who use them have found it to be a worthwhile investment of their time and a welcome
addition to their language teaching methods.
References
Chen, N. S., S. W. Hsieh, and Kinshuk. 2008. Effects of short-term memory and content
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(3): 93–113.
Chinnery, G. 2006. Going to the MALL: Mobile assisted language learning. Language
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Kukulska-Hulme, A., and J. Traxler, eds. 2005. Mobile learning: A handbook for educators
and trainers. London: Routledge.
Lave, J., and E. Wenger. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reinders, H., and M. Lewis. 2009. Podquests: Language games on the go. In Language
games: Innovative activities for teaching English, ed. M. Andrade, XX–XX. Alexandria,
VA: TESOL.
Thornton, P., and C. Houser. 2003. Using mobile web and video phones in English language
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experiments and evaluation, ed. B. Morrison, C. Green, and G. Motteram, 207–24. Hong
Kong: English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
BIODATA:
Hayo Reinders is Head of Language and Learning Support at Middlesex University in
London and editor of the journal Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. His
webpage is www.innovationinteaching.org.
