Shift in the Sri Lankan ESL Classroom – An Experiment with Mobile Assisted Language Learning

Abstract

The young generation of the contemporary world is depended on the omnipresent smart devices Yu (2012). Their advancement has created a range of additional benefits and new means of learning (Chan, 2016). The use of mobile applications for various purposes is commonly experienced in the Sri Lankan context as well. Although frequently used in written and oral discourses, phrasal verbs are subject to be excluded if the correct use of them is challenging for the English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. Therefore, this research intends to inspect the efficacy of teaching Phrasal Verbs via one of the common mobile applications, since it is prevalent in the society. In this empirical study, thirty undergraduates were selected. Pre and post tests were included in it and forty popularly used Phrasal Verbs are used. For the Pre-test, any instructions on Phrasal verbs were not given, but for the Post-test instructions were given. Traditional classroom instructions were given to the controlled group within one hour and the experimental group was guided via the selected mobile application. The results of both the tests were analysed and found that the experimental group outperformed in the Posttest than the other group indicating that the use of mobile applications in the process of teaching English language is an effective resource in instructing on phrasal verbs. Keywords: Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL); Phrasal Verbs; English Language Teaching (ELT); Mobile Learning