This chapter summarizes the major findings of the study. Conclusions to the study are drawn, and recommendations are made based on the findings.
5.2 Summary of the Study
The study examined the effective use of mobile phones in the teaching and learning of English Language. Specifically, the study examined the teachers’ perceptions on the use of mobile phones; the challenges to the use of mobile phones; and proposed interventions that could be adopted to effectively integrate mobile phones in the teaching and learning of English Language. The study adopted the descriptive research design. A quantitative research approach was adopted. In all, a total of 98 respondents were used in the study. The study then used the census sampling technique to select respondents for the study. A questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. The data were analyzed with the help of both descriptive and inferential analysis.
Objective one examines the teachers’ perceptions on the use of mobile phones in the teaching and learning of English Language. From the results, respondents’ positive perceived the use of mobile phones in teaching and learning English Language in relation to system quality, information quality, service quality, user satisfaction and net benefits. Specifically, respondents perceived that resources for mobile-learning are easy to use with increased flexibility to deliver teaching and learning, utilizes a wide range of learning sources to support teaching and the fact that students can easily access teaching and learning information. In addition, information relevant to students can be stored on mobile phones for references, be easily accessible, provide clear instructions to promote students’ comprehension and positively perceived the information quality of using mobile learning in the teaching and learning process.
Objective two examine the challenges to the use of mobile phones in the teaching and learning of English Language. Among the challenges were students’ engagement on unproductive activities with phone, diversion of students’ attention from academic work, exposure to unethical sites like pornography on the internet, source of disturbance to their peers in class and dormitories, disadvantage to students in poorer homes and high cost of data. Others were divided attention of students and teachers knowledge and competences in using mobile phone for teaching and learning.
The third objective examined the interventions that could be adopted to effectively integrate mobile phones in the teaching and learning of English Language. From the results, the most recommended means was the adoption of mobile phones for reading online books, followed by integration of mobile phones to learning translations and retranslations, and utilising them to undertake notes which can then be shared for easy accessibility. Others are the use of mobile phones as a means through which lessons could be recorded and shared among the students, undertaking notes which can then be shared for easy accessibility and practicing pronunciation using reading and pronunciation apps on the mobile phones.
The findings of this study may serve to enlighten educational policy makers in developing guidelines for effective and safe educational practices around the use of mobile technologies in high school classrooms. With the development of solid practices and policies in mobile technology use, teachers have the opportunity to implement and enforce, with the backing of administration, defined boundaries as set forth in such policies. The use of technology is commonplace, so should the protections afforded to students in the classroom. Clear, present, and consistent enforcement in the use of mobile technologies will enhance student learning and readiness. There was a positive perception of mobile phone usage in relation to system quality, information quality, service quality, user satisfaction and net benefits. Challenges such as students’ engagement on unproductive activities with phone, diversion of students’ attention from academic work, exposure to unethical sites like pornography on the internet, source of disturbance to students, disadvantage to students in poorer homes, high cost of data, divided attention and competences in using mobile phone for teaching and learning were found to affect the implementation of mobile phone usage in teaching and learning.
The study recommends that awareness among students and teaching staff should be raised on the use of mobile phones to aid teaching and learning as these tools are believed to be efficient and promote students engagement and exploration.
The study found a positive perception of mobile phone usage in relation to system quality, information quality, service quality, user satisfaction and net benefits. Ghana Education Service and teacher bodies such as Ghana National Association of Teachers and National Association of Graduates Teachers should try and introduce the use of mobile phones in the classrooms. This is because, the use of mobile phones was perceived to increase flexibility in teaching and learning, with opportunity for students to utilize a wide range of learning sources to support teaching and the fact that students can easily access teaching and learning information.
The implementation should however, be done with care and under control since students could engage in unethical activities and misuse the phone for other purposes rather than learning. Monitoring applications such as anydesk could be installed to monitor the student usage of the device. Other means could be access controls to limit student accessibility of the device and visiting unapproved sites.
Furthermore, mobile phones applications have the potential of providing learners with a supplementary source that could enhance their language and knowledge as well as their skills for the sake of improving students’ achievement and success. Besides, teachers are also invited to utilize this popularity of using mobile phones among students as a means to direct them to find their own way and to take charge of their learning. This should enable learners to become autonomous and independent and eventually successful as it is the teachers’ mission to prepare a generation that is well-equipped with the means of success.
Finally, it is recommended to repeat such a study by using a larger sample that includes participants from most senior high schools as well as soliciting the attitudes of the Ghana Education Service and teacher bodies regarding this issue, a matter that could yield more reliable and comprehensive results.