Utilizing Mobile Phones to Improve Learning Achievement in the EFL Classroom: Using the Movie, Stuart Little

This study considered the influence of the use of mobile phones on learners’ learning achievement and investigated learners’ opinions regarding the use of mobile phones as learning tools in EFL classrooms. It implemented various learning activities using mobile phones in a class consisting of 130 students. To determine the efficiency of mobile phone usage in facilitating language learning and analyze learners’ perceptions of this, two tests were conducted, and an open-ended questionnaire given. The two tests showed that the use of mobile phones positively affected learners’ acquisition of information for the given period. Meanwhile, the open-ended questionnaire indicated that: (1) learners support the use of mobile phones because they are fun and facilitate interaction, feedback, and cooperation; (2) mobile phones help learners acquire cultural vocabulary, comprehend explicit meaning as well as symbolic or intended meaning, and participate in learning activities; (3) some learners object to the use of mobile phones because they believe mobile phones foster a distracted learning atmosphere and can become inconvenient when, for example, their batteries run out or the touch screens stop functioning; consequently they prefer learning via lecture and using alternative tools; and (4) mobile phones do not help learners acquire practical expressions or reading skills.