DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE IPAD ON FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BY SAUDI CHILDREN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Since March 2020 until now, children have been studying online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since children are studying from home and having more free time than before, they are using their iPads for entertainment and learning purposes. This study is investigating the differential effects of the iPad on first and second language acquisition by Saudi children during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The subjects consisted of 78 parents and 118 children. The children sample was divided into 3 age groups: 1-6 (kindergarten), 7- 9 (grades 1-3), and 10-12 (grades 4-6). Interview-surveys with parents revealed that the iPad is more effective in helping children under the age of 6 in language learning than older children. Older children mainly use the iPad to play games and watch movies. More children under the age of 6 use the iPad to learn English than Arabic (46%) because they go to international kindergartens, lived abroad with their parents, and their parents are English instructors. Young children learn the alphabet, numbers, and new vocabulary such as names of animals, colors, fruits, seasons, continents from special apps, games, cartoons, movies, nursery rhymes, stories, and flash cards. The apps are interactive and use color, animation, audio, and video. Children can use and re-use the apps any time and as many times as they wish. Negative effects of the iPad include bad handwriting, and some children are not interested in print books. The presentation will report the results in detail and will give recommendations for better use of the iPad.