ABSTRACT
Martanti, Ika Fathin Resti. 2015. Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP):
M-Learning Model of English Listening Comprehension for Grade X Students.
Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Listening is the most fundamental skill in language learning, moreover, it provides language inputs for learners to develop other skills. Listening comprehension is very significant for students, especially Senior High Schools, as it has been integrated in the National Examination. In fact, it lacks attention in the classroom activities. With the existence of many mobile devices around students, it is more likely to make use of them as one of learning media inside or outside the classroom. Futhermore, the use of such technologies has promoted the implementation of Mobile Learning (m-learning) which can be defined either by the mobility of the learners or by the use of mobile devices as learning tools. Thus, the researcher was interested in developing a mobile application for tenth grade students to facilitate them in practicing listening.
There were two research questions formulated in this thesis. The first question is what the Android application for English listening comprehension looks like. Then, the second question is how the application supports m-learning. To answer the research questions, an instructional model by Dick and Carey (2009) was combined with the R & D cycle by Borg and Gall (1983). The data were in the forms of quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were gathered from the questionnaires, while the qualitative data were from the open-ended questions in the questionnaires and interviews. The research was done in SMAN 1 Depok Sleman.
The result of this study is the iconic model of an Android application named Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP). This application consists of four main menu, namely Focus, Fun, Final, and Forum. Focus contains some lesson units from which the topics were taken from the syllabus of Grade X. This section consists of three parts, namely Listen, Practice, and Review. They provide some audios, transcriptions, exercises, and vocabulary/expression reviews. Fun consists of some fun listening materials, such as songs, stories, and poems, in the forms of filling blank exercises. Final is a listening test packaged like in the National Examination. The questions were taken from the previous National Examinations. The last is Forum which can facilitate students to communicate with their friends or teachers via social media. The result shows that the Android application was considered acceptable by the mean score of 0.9 out of 2 and beneficial to help students in learning listening.
According to the results of the questionnaires and interviews, this application employs some principles of m-learning proposed by Elias (2011), namely (1) equitable use, (2) flexible use, (3) simple and intuitive, (4) perceptible information, (5) tolerance of error, (6) low physical and technical effort, and (7) community of learners and support.
ABSTRAK
Martanti, Ika Fathin Resti. 2015. Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP):
M-Learning Model of English Listening Comprehension for Grade X Students.
Yogyakarta: Program Pasca-Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Mendengar (listening) adalah kompetensi paling mendasar dalam pembelajaran bahasa dan dengan keterampilan ini siswa dapat memperoleh input untuk mengembangkan kompetensi yang lain. Penguasaan listening sangat penting bagi siswa, khususnya SMA, karena listening menjadi salah satu bagian yang diujikan dalam Ujian Nasional (UN). Akan tetapi, aktivitas pembelajaran di kelas masih belum banyak yang terfokus pada kompetensi ini. Keberadaan perangkat mobile di sekitar siswa sangat memungkinkan untuk dimanfaatkan sebagai salah satu media pembelajaran baik di dalam maupun di luar kelas. Selain itu, penggunaan teknologi mobile juga dapat mendukung penerapan model pembelajaran Mobile Learning (M-Learning) yang bisa didefinisikan baik dari sisi mobilitas siswa maupun penggunaan perangkat mobile sebagai media pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu, peneliti tertarik untuk mengembangkan sebuah aplikasi mobile untuk siswa kelas X yang dapat membantu mereka dalam berlatih listening.
Ada dua permasalahan inti dalam penelitian ini. Pokok permasalahan pertama adalah seperti apakah aplikasi Android untuk pembelajaran listening siswa kelas X. Permasalahan yang kedua adalah bagaimana aplikasi ini dapat mendukung penerapan model pembelajaran m-learning. Untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, model instruksional dari Dick dan Carey (2009) dikombinasikan dengan siklus Penelitian dan Pengembangan milik Borg dan Gall (1983). Terdapat dua jenis data dalam penelitian ini yaitu data kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Data kuantitatif diperoleh dari hasil kuesioner, sedangkan data kualitatif didapat dari hasil pertanyaan terbuka dari kuesioner dan wawancara. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di SMAN 1 Depok Sleman.
Hasil penelitian ini adalah model ikonik dari aplikasi Android yang bernama Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP). Aplikasi ini terdiri dari empat menu utama, yaitu Focus, Fun, Final, dan Forum. Focus berisi materi yang topiknya diambil dari silabus kelas X. Bagian ini terdiri dari tiga bagian, yaitu Listen, Practice, dan Review. Masing-masing bagian berisi audio, transkrip, soal latihan, dan latihan kosakata/ekspresi kebahasaan. Fun terdiri dari materi listening yang menyenangkan, seperti lagu, cerita, dan puisi, dalam bentuk isian. Final adalah tes yang dikemas seperti dalam UN. Pertanyaannya diadaptasi dari soal-soal UN tahun- tahun sebelumnya. Bagian terakhir yaitu Forum memfasilitasi siswa untuk dapat berkomunikasi dengan teman atau gurunya melalui sosial media. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aplikasi Android ini dapat diterima dengan skor rerata 0.9 dari skor maksimal 2 dan bermanfaat untuk membantu siswa berlatih listening.
FUN LISTENING ANDROID APPLICATION (FLAP):
M-LEARNING MODEL OF ENGLISH LISTENING
COMPREHENSION FOR GRADE X STUDENTS
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.)
in English Language Studies
by
Ika Fathin Resti Martanti 136332031
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
FUN LISTENING ANDROID APPLICATION (FLAP):
M-LEARNING MODEL OF ENGLISH LISTENING
COMPREHENSION FOR GRADE X STUDENTS
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.)
in English Language Studies
by
Ika Fathin Resti Martanti 136332031
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
DEDICATION PAGE
Life is a Struggle!
(myself)
Faith: It’s all about believing.
You don’t know how it will happen,
but you know it will.
(anonymous)
This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved parents, Bapak Sadjijo and Ibuk Suparni
My brothers, Farhan Labib Nugroho and Gilang Bangkit Saputra
My beloved man, Rhoma Dian Graha
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, I would like to express my highest gratitude to Allah SWT for every blessing and guidance so that I can have strength to struggle and overcome many obstacles in completing my thesis and finishing my study.
My sincerest gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A., for his guidance, encouragement, and help in the process of finishing my thesis. I would also thank F.X. Mukarto, Ph.D., Dr. J. Bismoko, Dra. Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A. (Hons), Ph.D., Widya Kiswara, S.Pd., M.Hum., and Josephine Sri Murwani Pudji Lestari, M.Hum., for sharing invaluable knowledge to me. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Ir. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto and SEAMOLEC for the funding and their dedication to promote technology in education. Besides, I am really grateful to Jaslin Ikhsan, Ph.D. for the useful feedback so that I can improve my thesis.
I would like to express my immeasurable gratitude to my beloved parents, Bapak Sadjijo and Ibuk Suparni, and my brothers, Farhan and Gilang, who have joined me in my struggle. Thanks for your prayer, support, care, and life lessons everyday. Those make me who I am now.
viii
university. Many thanks also go to Mbak Lelyana and Pak Mulyadi for their help and friendliness during my study.
My heartfelt thanks also go to my beloved ‘Anchakers’: Vinindita, Astri, Endah, Novita, Ayu, Fajri, and Ndaru, my ‘Semuters family’: Rachma, Eka, Ardy, and Mas Nano, and my ‘Cutebrays’: Pipit, Dewi, Bowo, Adit, and Ujang, for their motivation, care, quality time, and all the adventures together. My gratitude also goes to my bestie, Erie, for our lasting friendship. You are all my families.
I am trully indebted to Drs. H. Maskur, the principal of SMAN 1 Depok, for giving me the opportunity to conduct my research there. My great appreciation also goes to Priyanta Ari Nugraha, S.Pd., Parjanto, S.Pd.T., Dr. Dwijoko Purbohadi, S.T., M.T., and Fidelis Chosa Kastuhandani, M.Hum. who have become my validators and helped me finish my thesis. Besides, my gratitude also goes to the students of SMAN 1 Depok Sleman, for helping me completing my research. I also want to send my gratefulness to Oki Wicaksono, S.T. who has tutored me on how to make an Android application.
My special gratitude goes to my sweetheart, Rhoma Dian Graha, for teaching me about patience and struggle. Thanks for your love, support, and faithfulness to wait for me finishing my thesis.
ix
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of The Research ... 1
B. Problem Identification ... 5
C. Problem Limitation ... 6
D. Research Question ... 7
E. Research Objective ... 8
F. Research Benefit ... 8
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ... 10
A. Theoretical Review ... 10
1. Teaching English in Senior High Schools ... 10
a. The Nature of Teaching ... 11
b. Characteristics of Senior High School Students ... 12
c. Teaching English for Senior High School Students ... 13
2. Listening Comprehension ... 13
a. The Nature of Listening ... 14
b. The Nature of Listening Comprehension ... 17
c. Micro-skills of Listening ... 18
d. Types of Listening Strategies ... 19
e. Listening Comprehension for Senior High School Grade X ... 21
3. Mobile Learning (m-learning) ... 22
a. The Nature of Learning ... 23
b. The Nature of Mobile Learning ... 25
c. Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) ... 30
4. Android ... 34
a. The Nature of Android ... 35
b. Android Development Program ... 36
5. Instructional Design Model ... 40
a. The Nature of Instructional Design ... 42
b. Types of Instructional Designs ... 43
x
B. Review of Related Studies ... 53
C. Theoretical Framework ... 55
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 58
A. Research Method ... 58
B. Research Design ... 60
C. Research Setting and Participants ... 63
1. Research Setting ... 63
2. Research Participants ... 63
D. Data Collection Technique ... 64
1. Questionnaire ... 66
2. Interview ... 68
E. Data Analysis Technique ... 69
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ... 72
A. Process of Developing the Iconic Model ... 72
1. Information Collecting ... 73
2. Planning ... 83
3. Development ... 86
a. Developing the Materials ... 87
b. Developing a Storyboard and a Flowchart ... 87
c. Developing the Application Using App Inventor ... 89
d. Building the Application into .apk File ... 92
4. Evaluation and Revision ... 92
a. Experts Validation ... 93
b. Users Validation ... 101
B. Presentation of the Iconic Model of the Android Application ... 106
1. Focus Section ... 110
2. Fun Section ... 116
3. Final Section ... 120
4. Forum Section ... 122
C. The Support of the Android Application to M-Learning ... 122
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 126
A. Conclusions ... 126
B. Suggestions ... 127
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 129
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Micro-skills of Listening Comprehension ... 19
Table 2.2. Two Kinds of Listening Strategies ... 20
Table 2.3. The Stages in ADDIE Model ... 44
Table 2.4. The ASSURE Model ... 50
Table 3.1. The Combined Model of Borg & Gall (R & D Model) and Dick and Carey Model (Systems Approach Model) 59 Table 3.2. The Description of the Expert Validators ... 64
Table 3.3. Instruments, Participants, Time, Data, and Aims ... 64
Table 3.4. The Description of Needs Analysis Questionnaire Result 69 Table 3.5. The Description of the Validation Questionnaire Result 70 Table 3.6. The Conversion Table of the Raw Scores into the Converted Scores ... 70
Table 3.7. A Five Scale Using Criterian Reference Evaluation (CRE) ... 70
Table 4.1. Competency Standards and Basic Competences of Listening Skill for Grade X ... 74
Table 4.2. The Topics for Listening Skills of Senior High School Grade X for Semester 1 and 2 ... 76
Table 4.3. The Working Concept of the Needs Analysis Questionnaire ... 77
Table 4.4. The Teaching of Listening in the Classroom ... 77
Table 4.5. The Students’ Listening Strategies ... 80
Table 4.6. The Media Used by the Students to Practice Listening ... 80
Table 4.7. The Topics, Activities, and Learning Indicators ... 85
Table 4.8. FLAP and Its Content Description ... 88
Table 4.9. The Categorization of the Scores ... 94
Table 4.10. The Descriptive Statistics of Materials Experts’ Opinion 94
Table 4.11. The Descriptive Statistics of Media Experts’ Opinion ... 98
Table 4.12. The Comments and Suggestions from the Experts ... 100
Table 4.13. The Users’ Opinions toward the Materials Aspects ... 101
Table 4.14. The Users’ Opinions about the Parts of FLAP ... 102
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Types of Oral Language ... 15
Figure 2.2. Distance Learning and Its Subsets ... 26
Figure 2.3. Three Pillars for M-learning ... 27
Figure 2.4. The Relationship of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Mobile Learning (ML), and Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) ... 31
Figure 2.5 The Elements that are Required for Making an Android Application Using App Inventor ... 38
Figure 2.6. The ADDIE model of Instructional Design ... 44
Figure 2.7. The Systems Approach Model for Designing Instructions ... 46
Figure 2.8. The Nine Steps of the ID4T Model ... 48
Figure 2.9. System ID Model by Zook ... 49
Figure 2.10. Model Development Framework ... 56
Figure 3.1. The Flowchart of the Combined Model Adapted from Borg and Gall (1983) and Dick and Carey (2003) ... 62
Figure 4.1 The Warning of the Failed Building Project... 90
Figure 4.2. The Error Internet Connection Causes the Program to Stop ... 91
Figure 4.3. The Warning of Exceeding Number of Screens ... 91
Figure 4.4. The Icon of FLAP in the Display Menu ... 107
Figure 4.5. The Homescreen of the Final Version of FLAP ... 108
Figure 4.6. The Menu Screen of the Final Version of FLAP ... 109
Figure 4.7. The Unit Screen of the Final Version of FLAP ... 110
Figure 4.8. The Unit Preview Screen of the Final Version of FLAP ... 111
Figure 4.9 The Screen of Each Unit in the Final Version of FLAP ... 112
Figure 4.10. The Listen Screens in the Final Version of FLAP ... 113
Figure 4.11. Three Types of Listening Exercises in FLAP ... 114
Figure 4.12. The Scoring System in FLAP ... 115
Figure 4.13. The Review Screen and the Screen Containing Text to Speech and Speech Recognizer ... 116
Figure 4.14. The Fun Screen in the Final Version of FLAP ... 117
Figure 4.15. The Song Screen and Its Scoring in the Final Version of FLAP 118 Figure 4.16. The Story Screen and Its Scoring in the Final Version of FLAP ... 119
Figure 4.17. The Poem Screen and Its Scoring in the Final Version of FLAP ... 119
Figure 4.18. The Login and Final Screen in the Final Version of FLAP .... 120
Figure 4.19. The Final Screen Part 1-4 in the Final Version of FLAP ... 121
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Syllabus of Senior High School Grade X ... 134
Appendix 2 Blueprint of Questionnaires ... 144
Appendix 3 Flowchart and Storyboard of FLAP ... 152
Appendix 4 Needs Analysis Questionnaire ... 165
Appendix 5 Experts Validation Questionnaire ... 168
Appendix 6 Users Validation Questionnaire ... 172
Appendix 7 Interview Guideline ... 176
Appendix 8 Result of Needs Analysis Questionnaire ... 177
Appendix 9 Result of Experts Validation Questionnaire ... 179
Appendix 10 Result of Users Validation Questionnaire ... 185
Appendix 11 Interview Transcription ... 197
Appendix 12 Photo Documentation ... 205
xiv ABSTRACT
Martanti, Ika Fathin Resti. 2015. Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP):
M-Learning Model of English Listening Comprehension for Grade X Students.
Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.
Listening is the most fundamental skill in language learning, moreover, it provides language inputs for learners to develop other skills. Listening comprehension is very significant for students, especially Senior High Schools, as it has been integrated in the National Examination. In fact, it lacks attention in the classroom activities. With the existence of many mobile devices around students, it is more likely to make use of them as one of learning media inside or outside the classroom. Futhermore, the use of such technologies has promoted the implementation of Mobile Learning (m-learning) which can be defined either by the mobility of the learners or by the use of mobile devices as learning tools. Thus, the researcher was interested in developing a mobile application for tenth grade students to facilitate them in practicing listening.
There were two research questions formulated in this thesis. The first question is what the Android application for English listening comprehension looks like. Then, the second question is how the application supports m-learning. To answer the research questions, an instructional model by Dick and Carey (2009) was combined with the R & D cycle by Borg and Gall (1983). The data were in the forms of quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were gathered from the questionnaires, while the qualitative data were from the open-ended questions in the questionnaires and interviews. The research was done in SMAN 1 Depok Sleman.
The result of this study is the iconic model of an Android application named Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP). This application consists of four main menu, namely Focus, Fun, Final, and Forum. Focus contains some lesson units from which the topics were taken from the syllabus of Grade X. This section consists of three parts, namely Listen, Practice, and Review. They provide some audios, transcriptions, exercises, and vocabulary/expression reviews. Fun consists of some fun listening materials, such as songs, stories, and poems, in the forms of filling blank exercises. Final is a listening test packaged like in the National Examination. The questions were taken from the previous National Examinations. The last is Forum which can facilitate students to communicate with their friends or teachers via social media. The result shows that the Android application was considered acceptable by the mean score of 0.9 out of 2 and beneficial to help students in learning listening.
According to the results of the questionnaires and interviews, this application employs some principles of m-learning proposed by Elias (2011), namely (1) equitable use, (2) flexible use, (3) simple and intuitive, (4) perceptible information, (5) tolerance of error, (6) low physical and technical effort, and (7) community of learners and support.
xv ABSTRAK
Martanti, Ika Fathin Resti. 2015. Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP):
M-Learning Model of English Listening Comprehension for Grade X Students.
Yogyakarta: Program Pasca-Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Mendengar (listening) adalah kompetensi paling mendasar dalam pembelajaran bahasa dan dengan keterampilan ini siswa dapat memperoleh input untuk mengembangkan kompetensi yang lain. Penguasaan listening sangat penting bagi siswa, khususnya SMA, karena listening menjadi salah satu bagian yang diujikan dalam Ujian Nasional (UN). Akan tetapi, aktivitas pembelajaran di kelas masih belum banyak yang terfokus pada kompetensi ini. Keberadaan perangkat mobile di sekitar siswa sangat memungkinkan untuk dimanfaatkan sebagai salah satu media pembelajaran baik di dalam maupun di luar kelas. Selain itu, penggunaan teknologi mobile juga dapat mendukung penerapan model pembelajaran Mobile Learning (M-Learning) yang bisa didefinisikan baik dari sisi mobilitas siswa maupun penggunaan perangkat mobile sebagai media pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu, peneliti tertarik untuk mengembangkan sebuah aplikasi mobile untuk siswa kelas X yang dapat membantu mereka dalam berlatih listening.
Ada dua permasalahan inti dalam penelitian ini. Pokok permasalahan pertama adalah seperti apakah aplikasi Android untuk pembelajaran listening siswa kelas X. Permasalahan yang kedua adalah bagaimana aplikasi ini dapat mendukung penerapan model pembelajaran m-learning. Untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, model instruksional dari Dick dan Carey (2009) dikombinasikan dengan siklus Penelitian dan Pengembangan milik Borg dan Gall (1983). Terdapat dua jenis data dalam penelitian ini yaitu data kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Data kuantitatif diperoleh dari hasil kuesioner, sedangkan data kualitatif didapat dari hasil pertanyaan terbuka dari kuesioner dan wawancara. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di SMAN 1 Depok Sleman.
Hasil penelitian ini adalah model ikonik dari aplikasi Android yang bernama Fun Listening Android Application (FLAP). Aplikasi ini terdiri dari empat menu utama, yaitu Focus, Fun, Final, dan Forum. Focus berisi materi yang topiknya diambil dari silabus kelas X. Bagian ini terdiri dari tiga bagian, yaitu Listen, Practice, dan Review. Masing-masing bagian berisi audio, transkrip, soal latihan, dan latihan kosakata/ekspresi kebahasaan. Fun terdiri dari materi listening yang menyenangkan, seperti lagu, cerita, dan puisi, dalam bentuk isian. Final adalah tes yang dikemas seperti dalam UN. Pertanyaannya diadaptasi dari soal-soal UN tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Bagian terakhir yaitu Forum memfasilitasi siswa untuk dapat berkomunikasi dengan teman atau gurunya melalui sosial media. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aplikasi Android ini dapat diterima dengan skor rerata 0.9 dari skor maksimal 2 dan bermanfaat untuk membantu siswa berlatih listening.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the background information related to the reasons of the research problems. There are six major sections in this chapter namely: background of the research, problem identification, problem limitation, research questions, research objectives, and research benefits.
A. Background of the Research
The dynamics of education system in Indonesia give impacts to the general teaching and learning process at schools. One of the causes is the change of curriculum. The curriculum has changed many times. In 2013, it has changed from Curriculum 2006 into Curriculum 2013. According to Curriculum 2013, English in Senior High School is categorized into the compulsory subject and the elective subject. However, recently the curriculum has changed back into Curriculum 2006. This curriculum puts English as the compulsory subject. Furthermore, it gives influences to the teaching and learning practices at schools. Both teachers and students should adapt with such condition.
According to Curriculum 2013, English teaching and learning process aims to develop students’ knowledge, skills, social and spiritual attitudes (The Ministry
of Education and Culture, 2013). The focus is on developing students’ attitudes.
standard and basic competences. Therefore, the assessment focuses on the students’ language skills, not their attitudes in particular.
The problem is that the teaching-learning activities focus more on reading, writing, and speaking, whereas listening is rarely taken into account. Listening is a major component in language learning which influences learners in producing language. Brown (2001: 247) states that through reception, learners internalize linguistic information without which they cannot produce the language. However, many students have low awareness of the importance of listening. Such problem occurs because of some conditions.
First, students get little opportunities to practice listening. Listening is mostly done when they listen to the teacher’s explanation or when the teacher plays audios or videos as a part of learning activities. They often get some problems when joining listening tests, moreover in the National Examination. There is no listening test conducted in daily tests, mid-term tests, and final semester tests, whereas students must face it in the National Examination. Hence, students may find difficulties in listening because they have not got adequate preparation for it.
Therefore, students need additional learning media which can facilitate them in practicing listening.
With the advance of technology, many educational institutions have opportunities to make use of technology for facilitating students in learning. Technology has been integrated with the teaching and learning activities through the use of various learning media in the classroom. In the former years, technology is depicted by the use of computers, videotapes, and LCD in the classroom (Brown, 2001). Nowadays, the use of technology for enhancing learning is more common with the existence of the internet and the availability of various electronic devices which provide access to it. The internet which formerly could only be accessed from personal computers, recently can be easily accessed from mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets.
Mobile technology has become the mainstream in Indonesian society. It has merged as people’s lifestyle. The advancement of technology, with its increasing
defines m-learning as “a type of learning that delivers educational contents and learning support materials through wireless communication devices”. It can be possibly conducted since today students can have the internet access at schools, homes, the internet cafes, or through their mobile devices.
The expansion of the internet accessibility gives impacts to language learning. Previously, computer-based learning, often referred to as CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) has moved beyond the use of computer programs to incorporate the internet and web-based tools (Dudeney and Hockly, 2007). Nowadays, as the internet can be more easily accessed through mobile devices, many researchers begin to focus on MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning). Chinnery (2006) states that MALL has some benefits, such as its availability, portability, and lower cost compared with CALL. Yang (2013) also conducts a review on MALL applications. Based on the review, MALL indeed has not fully utilized in educational contexts, but it is on the continuum towards the new stage of CALL and it can be promising for the future.
The increasing demands of the mobile devices also influence the development of mobile applications. Many developers have tried to create various applications which enable users to do a wide range of activities. There are many applications which can support language learning, such as dictionaries, e-books, or other applications focusing on improving language skills, including grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Although there are many applications which facilitate language learning, there is still limited number of applications which focus on developing students’ specific skills in particular levels.
particular education level, for example Senior High School, demands specific materials which are appropriate for their learning needs. Therefore this research is aimed at developing an Android application for facilitating the tenth grade students in improving their listening comprehension.
B. Problem Identification
All reasons mentioned above have encouraged the researcher to build up an effort to solve the problems related to listening skill in Senior High School with the help of Android application. An Android application for listening comprehension is developed through this research. Listening comprehension, which usually becomes a part of National Examination, needs to be prepared earlier. Therefore, students should be given more listening practices. Actually the portion of listening that is done by students is greater than speaking. During the teaching learning activities, they do more listening than speaking. It takes place while the teacher is explaining or during the discussions. However, the goals of the lesson are on the productive skills i.e. writing and speaking, or on the literacy skills i.e. reading and writing. As a result, students still find difficulties on listening skills.
information, not only vocabulary and grammar, but also pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and pitch. In fact, the listening activities are not yet effective. The sources of listening are mostly from the teacher’s explanation which is taken from the
coursebooks. Sometimes audios are played through the teacher’s laptop and speakers. Nevertheless, they are not comprehensible enough for the whole class. Students cannot concentrate and learn the language intensively through such activities.
There is a great opportunity to use technology for improving the students’ listening skills. However, both teachers and students are not aware to it. Many teachers prefer depending on textbooks to developing materials or media by themselves. There should be a variation of teaching materials, methods, or media. In the same way, the students also lack efforts to improve their language skills, especially listening. Students have few resources of listening materials. When they face listening tests, they often find difficulties. Students have a good access to the internet, but they use it rarely to practice listening or to browse listening materials. There are a lot of media that can be used by students to facilitate them in developing their listening skills, for example Personal Computers (PCs), laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and other Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). However, they do not utilize those facilities to practice listening frequently. With the support from the teacher, students can be encouraged to use those mobile devices to improve their listening skills.
C. Problem Limitation
First, it focuses on the research and development of an application for facilitating learning. Therefore, no experimental study is conducted to measure students’
listening competence after they have experienced using the application. It focuses more on the development of an application and its validation.
Second, the focus is on listening comprehension for students of Senior High School grade X. Listening comprehension can influence student’s language competence as it provides language inputs which affect the productive skills, especially speaking. Besides, listening comprehension is regarded important because students will face it later in the National Examination. Therefore, they need more preparation for it. If they are prepared since in the tenth grade, they will simultaneously get more inputs for better results of the listening test.
Third, the limitation is on selecting Android platform for the application. The reason is particularly because it is associated with the terms specified by SEAMOLEC as the sponsor, which requires the SEAMOLEC students to conduct a study on developing Android applications. Android is chosen because of its assessibility and complete features. The Android application can be used as the implementation of m-learning at senior high schools.
D. Research Questions
The problems can be formulated as follows.
1. What does the Android application for listening comprehension of Senior High School Grade X look like?
E. Research Objectives
There are two main objectives in this research. The first objective is the final version of the iconic model of an Android application which consists of some useful features for facilitating the students in improving their listening comprehension. The researcher combines the steps in R & D model proposed by Borg and Gall (1983) and Dick and Carey model (Gall et al., 2003) in developing the application. The second objective of this research is the findings about how the Android application supports the Mobile Learning (m-learning) in Senior High School grade X according to the principles of m-learning by Elias (2011). The researcher distributes questionnaires and conducting interviews to gather information about the participants’ opinion after using the application.
F. Research Benefits
work well in the environments where the access of such technologies is more normal and becomes people’s lifestyles.
10 CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents the theoretical description which serves as the basis for the whole research. There are three sections in this chapter, namely theoretical review, review of related studies, and theoretical framework. In the theoretical review, the relevant theories are discussed. Then in the review of related studies, some previous studies discussing the similar topics are presented. Meanwhile, in the theoretical framework, the relationship among the variables is elaborated.
A. Theoretical Review
There are five major concepts in this research, namely teaching English in Senior High Schools, listening comprehension, mobile learning, Android, and instructional design. The further explanation is presented in the following.
1. Teaching English in Senior High Schools
English exists as a foreign language in Indonesian education contexts. Brown (2001) states that foreign language contexts are those in which students do not have ready-made contexts for communication beyond their classroom. English can be acquired through language clubs, particular media, or books, but it requires some efforts to get such opportunities. It also happens at secondary levels in which the students seem to have had enough exposures of English since they have got English from the elementary level. In fact, they still find some constraints in communicating with English or understanding meaning in English. As many students still lack English competences, the teaching of English in the classroom takes a crucial part
nature of teaching, the characteristics of senior high school students, and the teaching of English in Senior High School.
a. The Nature of Teaching
Teaching is literally viewed as an organized process happened at formal institutions. Actually there are different views of teaching which parallel to learning. Shambaugh and Magliaro (2006: 11) present three different perspectives of teaching which regard teacher as behavioral manager, decision maker, and reflective practitioner. Teaching as behavioral managing views a teacher as a skilled manager of student behaviour and a master of technique. A professional teacher possesses a set of skills or competencies, usually evaluated by standardized achievement measures. Meanwhile, as a decision making, teaching is viewed as a
trio of thoughts: a teacher’s theories and beliefs, the planning done before teaching,
and the thinking during the actual implementation (Shambaugh & Magliaro, 2006: 11). There is a resiprocal effect from the teacher’s thinking and actions on student behavior and achievement, and that behavior and achievement has some impacts on teacher thinking and actions. Then, teachers as reflective practioner are continually engaged in their own learning as well as their students’ learning. Teaching occurs in various contexts of influences, activities, interactions, and changes, and it also involves many parties, like parents, schools, and state and national government (Borko & Shavelson, 1990, in Shambaugh & Magliaro, 2006: 12). With this complexity and challenges, teachers are supposed to experiment, reframe, and reflect during and after teaching.
decisions of thinking and actions, and reflecting them to change learner achievement and behaviour.
b. Characteristics of Senior High School Students
Students of Senior High Schools are teenagers whose ages ranges more or less 17-19 years old. Brown (2000: 92) states that teenagers in those ages are in the age of transition, confusion, self-consciousness, growing, and changing bodies and minds. Teenagers are in the transition period between childhood and adulthood, therefore teachers should have some consideration in teaching them. Harmer (2002) also states that teenagers are in the search for individual identity, thus it has to be shaped among classmates or friends. Peer approval may be considered more
important for the students than the teacher’s attention, which is more crucial for
young learners.
There are some characteristics of teenagers that teachers need to take into account (Brown, 2000). First, their intellectual capacity had added abstract operational thought, particularly in the beginning of the teenage period. They can solve complex problems with logical thinking as their intelligence develops. Second, their attention spans are lengthening as a result of intellectual maturation.
However, many diversions in teenagers’ life can shorten their attention spans.
Third, varieties of sensory input are important. Yet, increasing abstraction causes their appeals to five senses lessen. Fourth, there are some influential factors in teenagers, such as ego, self-image, and self-esteem. Teenagers are really sensitive to how others perceive their changing physical and emotional states. Students of senior high schools have become adultlike in their ability to make diversions
grammar and vocabulary items. Brown (2000) also provides some suggestions for
teachers to keep the students’ self-esteem high. Teachers should avoid embarassment of students at all costs. Besides, students’ mistakes and errors should
be accepted. Teachers should also affirm each person’s talents and strengths by de -emphasizing competition between classmates and encouraging small-group work.
c. Teaching English for Senior High School Students
English becomes one of compulsory subjects in Senior High School level. The teaching of English in Senior High School follows the policy in the curriculum. As the curriculum changes, the objectives of English learning are also different. Previously, when Curriculum 2013 was applied, the teachers were required to integrate the spiritual and social attitudes in the learning activities. Those aspects were also incorporated with the assessment criteria. Meanwhile, in School-Based Curriculum, the English learning focuses more on the development of four language competences, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These skills are integrated in the classroom activities. The learning objectives also depend on particular skills which are taught.
Considering the characteristics of senior high school students, it is essential for teachers to design the learning activities appropriate with their level. The
teachers’ treatment to the students should consider students’ cognitive and
emotional conditions.
2. Listening Comprehension
traditional way about defining listening. Listening is viewed based on its main function in second language learning, i.e. to facilitate understanding of spoken discourse. Meanwhile, listening as acquisition is related to the role of consciousness in language learning, and in particular to the role of noticing in learning. Schmidt (1990) in Richards (2008) states that consciousness of features of input can trigger
the process of incorporating new linguistic features into one’s language
competence. According to this view, there is a difference between input (what the learner hears) and intake (part of input that the learner notices), and only intake can serve as the basis for language development.
A specific issue that is discussed in this research is listening comprehension. For further understanding about listening comprehension, it is necessary to provide more explanation about the nature of listening, listening comprehension, micro-skills of listening, listening strategies, and listening comprehension for tenth grade students.
a. The Nature of Listening
Listening is one of language competences which is very essential in
communication. Listening takes a great part in learner’s second language
acquisition. According to Rost (1990) in Carter and Nunan (2001), “listening is not only a skill area in language performance, but is also a critical means of acquiring
Listening formerly appears as a passive skill and speaking is an active one. However, it is not really true because listening involves the decoding of a message which requires an active participation in the communication between participants (Broughton et al., 2003). In addition, Rost (1990) in Carter and Nunan (2001) states that listening refers to a complex process to understand spoken language. Spoken language, also called oral language, consists of some types. As presented by Nunan (1991b: 20-21) in Brown (2001), oral language is categorized into two types i.e. monologue and dialogue. The classification is presented in the following chart.
Figure 2.1. Types of oral language
Meanwhile, dialogues involve two or more speakers which can be classified according to the purposes whether for interpersonal (to maintain social relationships) or transactional (to exchange factual information). For speakers who are familar to each other, the conversations will employ more assumptions and implications. While for the unfamiliar ones, the references and meanings should be told explicitly to avoid misunderstandings or misinterpretations.
Listening becomes not only the basis of language performance, but also serves as the basic skill for second language (L2) acquisition. There are two broad types of listening models, namely bottom-up and top-down models. According to Morley (1991: 87) in Brown (2001), bottom-up processing allows the listeners to proceed from sounds to words to grammatical relationship to lexical meaning. This process focuses on sounds, words, intonation, grammatical structures, and the other small units in spoken language. Meanwhile, in top-down processing the listeners utilize schemata or background knowledge to create meaning. According to Brown (2006), schemata are abstract, generalized mental representations of our experience which are available to help understand new experiences. This process concerns with the application of schemata with the global understanding to interpret the meaning in the spoken language. Both processes are important for the learners depending on the contexts (where or when the listening process occurs) and the purpose of listening itself.
b. The Nature of Listening Comprehension
Listening comprehension is a process which involves many other sub-skills that should be done by listeners to interpret meaning of the utterances they hear. Newmark (1981: 39) in Nation and Newton (2009: 38) states that “a comprehension approach can work as long as the material presented for comprehension in fact consists of (1) sufficient (2) language instances (3) whose meaning can be inferred by students (4) who are paying attention”. Gary and Gary (1981) in Nation and Newton (2009) propose some benefits of delaying speaking and concentrating on listening. First, the learner will not be overloaded by having to focus on two or more skills at the same time (a cognitive benefit). Second, receptive knowledge grows faster than productive knowledge (speed of coverage). Third, it is easy to move very quickly to realistic communicative listening activities (increasing learner motivation). Fourth, learners will not feel shy or worried about their language classes. Furthermore, it can lessen the stress in language learning (a psychological benefit). Fifth, listening activities are suitable to independent learning by listening through recordings. However, many critics argue that it is not sufficient to focus only on the receptive skills. Therefore, productive skills, especially speaking, should also be considered as the important factors for supporting language learning. Listening comprehension is not regarded as a passive activity. Vandergrift (1999: 168) in McDonough and Shaw (2003) defines listening comprehension as
Listening is very important for language learners because it provides inputs for developing both language competence and performance.
The teaching of listening in the classroom has a significant influence to the learners. Teachers need to consider some factors related to teaching listening. Rost (1990) in Carter and Nunan (2001: 11) states that the teaching of listening involves the selection of input sources (live or recorded and audio or video), the chunking of inputs into segments for presentation, and an activity cycle for learners to engage in. The selection of audio input and the design of activities can determine the learning outcomes. Rost defines effective teaching of listening as the teaching which involves careful selection of input sources (appropriately authentic, interesting, varied, and challenging), creative design of tasks (well-structured, with opportunities for learners to activate their own knowledge and experience and to monitor what they are doing), assistance to help learners enact effective listening strategies (metacognitive, cognitive, and social), and integration of listening with other learning purposes (with appropriate links to speaking, reading, and writing). Krashen (1981) as cited in Nation and Newton (2009) states the importance of Comprehensible Input (CI) in listening. The comprehensible input can be transformed into some conditions that are required for language development
through listening. The conditions are abbreviated into “MINUS”. It stands for
Meaningful, Interesting, New items, Understanding, and Stress-free. c. Micro-skills of Listening
Table 2.1. Micro-skills of Listening Comprehension
1. Retain chunks of language of different lengths in short-term memory. 2. Discriminate among the distinctive sounds of English.
3. Recognize English stress patterns, words in stressed and unstressed positions, rhythmic structure, intonational contours, and their role in signalling information.
4. Recognize reduced forms of words.
5. Distinguish word boundaries, recognize a core of words, and interpret word order patterns and their significance.
6. Process speech at different rates of delivery.
7. Process speech containing pauses, errors, corrections, and other performance variables.
8. Recognize grammatical word classes (nouns, verbs, etc), systems (tense, agreement, pluralization), patterns, rules, and elliptical forms.
9. Detect sentence constituents and distinguish between major and minor constituents.
10.Recognize that a particular meaning may be expressed in different grammatical forms.
11.Recognize cohesive devices in spoken discourse.
12.Recognize the communicative functions of utterances according to situations, participants, and goals.
13.Infer situations, participants, goals using real-world language.
14.From events, ideas, etc., described, predict outcomes, infer links and connections between events, deduce causes and effects, and detect such relations as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and exemplification.
15.Distinguish between literal and implied meanings.
16.Use facial, kinesic, body language, and other nonverbal clues, to decipher meanings.
17.Develop and use a battery of listening strategies such as detecting keywords, guessing the meaning of words from context, appeal for help, and signaling comprehension of lack thereof.
The aspects above can be a guidance for teachers to determine the objectives of the listening activities. Besides, the lists can be testing criteria on the evaluation of the activities. Teachers can select specific micro-skills of which the learners should focus on.
d. Types of Listening Strategies
Buck (2001: 104) in Richards (2008) identifies two kinds of listening strategies, namely cognitive strategies and metacognitive stategies. Cognitive strategies refer to mental activities related to comprehending and storing input in working memory for later retrieval. Metacognitive strategies refer to conscious or unconscious mental activities to manage the cognitive strategies. The classification of the strategies can be seen in the following table.
Table 2.2. Two Kinds of Listening Strategies
Cognitive Strategies Metacognitive Strategies
Comprehension
processes: the processing of linguistic and nonlinguistic input
Storing and memory processes: the storing of linguistic and nonlinguistic input in working memory or long-term memory
Using and retrieval processes: accessing memory to be readied for output
Assessing the situation: analyzing the conditions surrounding a language task
by assessing one’s own knowledge,
internal and external resources, and the constraints of the situation before engaging in a task
Monitoring: determining the
effectiveness of one’s own or another’s
performance while engaged in a task
Self-evaluating: determining the
effectiveness of one’s own or another’s
performance after engaging in a task
Self-testing: testing oneself to determine
the effectiveness of one’s own language
use or the lack thereof
Furthermore, Rost (2002: 155) as cited in Nunan (2003) mentions some strategies that are used by successful listeners, namely: predicting, inferring, monitoring, clarifying, responding, and evaluating. Effective listeners predict by
thinking about what they will hear. Meanwhile, inferring means “listening between
the lines”. Monitoring is done by noticing what listeners do and do not understand.
Then, listeners clarify the message they hear by asking questions, such as “What
speaker. Responding is done by reacting to what listeners have heard. The last strategy i.e. evaluating is to check how well they have understood the message.
Teachers can help learners listen more effectively by teaching them about purposes for listening. Brown (2006) mentions three main purposes of listening, namely listening for main ideas, listening for details, and listening and making inferences. By understanding the purposes of listening, learners will be able to focus on why they listen and decide which skills or strategies to be applied to listen better.
e. Listening Comprehension for Senior High School Grade X
The change of curriculum in Indonesia gives many impacts to the education system including the language learning at schools. In 2014, the curriculum changed from School Based Curriculum into Competency Based Curriculum or known as Curriculum 2013. It gave a great influence to the teaching learning system at schools. There is a great change related to the time allocation of English subject in Senior High Schools. According to Curriculum 2013, English as a compulsory subject is done two sessions per week. Meanwhile, for students who want to learn further about it should take it as the elective course. There are three elective courses in senior high school, namely Mathematics and Natural Science, Social Science, and Language (The Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013).
of the problems is about the assessment system. Teachers did not only assess
students’ cognitive skills, but also their spiritual and social attitudes.
The difference also lies on the syllabus. Syllabus becomes the basic reference for materials and program design in this research. The materials, including the topics and the learning objectives, are based on competency standards and basic competences of English for Senior High School grade X. In reference with the teaching listening in Senior High School grade X, the competency standard and basic competences are presented in Appendix 1. The listening materials should be derived accordingly from the syllabus. The syllabus becomes the reference in selecting the language functions as well as the text genres that are included in the Android application.
3. Mobile Learning (m-learning)
Technology has merged with the learning process in the classroom. Dudeney and Hockly (2007) state some reasons why technology is important in language learning. First, it is because the internet access becomes increasingly available to learners. Next, young learners have grown up with technology so it has been integrated with their lives. Furthermore, English has been globally used in technological contexts. Many technical terms are written or spoken in English.
Many teachers have moved from the conventional media to the digital ones. Moreover, Senior High School students are adolescents who were born in the digital
era who can be considered as “digital native”. According to Dudeney and Hockly
to be “digital immigrants” who came late to the world of technology. Therefore, it
is necessary for teachers to adapt with the development of technology.
In addition, the internet as a signal of technology advance provides many resources of authentic materials. Teachers and learners can easily access them by downloading them via the internet. The internet can also become a means of communication among students in distance. Moreover, technology becomes increasingly mobile. It can be used not only at school during the teaching and learning process, but also elsewhere, outside the classroom, such as at home, on the way, or at the internet cafe. Nowadays, as the advance of technology, people demands more flexible and practical solution for learning. One of the effective ways is by using mobile devices for learning. Before defining mobile learning, firstly it is necessary to understand the nature of learning.
a. The Nature of Learning
The process of learning occurs to every human being and it varies in term of time, effort, and purpose. There are various definitions of learning proposed by some experts. Driscoll (1994: 8-9) in Newby et al. (2000) defines learning as a
“persisting change in human performance or performance potential [brought] about
a result of the learner’s interaction with the environment”. Meanwhile, Woofolk
(1998: 204) states that learning happens when experience causes a relatively
permanent change in an individual’s knowledge or behavior. The similar concept
that can be drawn from both definitions is “change”. It can be inferred that to learn
means “to change”. Therefore, when people learn, there will be a change of their
Many experts have provided different views of learning. Shambaugh and Magliaro (2006: 5-7) propose three primary approaches of learning, namely: behavioral learning theory, cognitive learning theory, and constructivist learning theory. These three approaches correspond to three metaphors suggested by Mayer (1992) in Shambaugh and Magliaro (2006: 5), namely: learning as response acquisition, learning as knowledge acquisition, and learning as knowledge construction.
b. The Nature of Mobile Learning
Mobile learning has undergone some evolution time by time. Formerly, mobile learning has been defined as learning which employs the use of mobile technologies, while recently it begins to focus on the mobility of the learners as well (Kukulska-Hulme and Shield, 2008). As stated by Riggs and Vandenbrink (2001), mobile learning, through the use of wireless mobile technologies, allows anyone to
obtain learning content from anywhere and anytime”. Learners can have access to
the learning materials anywhere - inside or outside the classroom, and anytime – before, during, or after the classroom activities. It depends on how teachers make use of the mobile devices and the learning objectives that want to achieve through the mobile learning.
Figure 2.2. Distance Learning and its Subsets
Distance Learning (d-learning) is defined as “a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by
time or distance, or both” (Honeyman, 1993). Formerly, d-learning has many constraints related to time and location restrictions, climate factors, and the limited access because the lesson is delivered via satellite. In the recent years, it relies much on the development of technologies so that the delivery process of knowledge and information is easier than before. Meanwhile, electronic learning (e-learning) is
defined as “learning that takes place using technology, such as the internet, CD
-ROMs, and portable devices like mobile phones or MP3 players” (Dudeney and
face-to-face teaching, yet it still belongs to formal education. The last perspective is learner-centered in which the focus is on the mobility of the learner(s). O’Malley et al. (2003) define mobile learning as “any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, pre-determined location, or learning that happens when the
learner takes advantage of learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies”.
There are three fundamental pillars to implement m-learning in the teaching-learning process. Ali (2013) mentions three pillars for establishing m-learning, namely the learner style, the mobile devices/applications, and the learning content. The three pillars are presented in the following figure.
Figure 2.3. Three Pillars for m-learning (Ali, 2013)
to meet the learners’ needs. Ali (2013) states that the mobile applications can be
pre-installed on phones during the manufacturing process, downloaded by users from different mobile software distribution platforms, or through web applications. The last pillar is the learning content i.e. the information that has to be delivered to the learners for them to obtain knowledge. For obtaining knowledge, the learning content should be new and not be introduced before (Ali, 2013).
can also learn using the mobile devices recursively and comprehensively because they have their own access to the materials.
Heinich et al. (1996: 47) propose some criteria for selecting instructional materials. The criteria can be formulated in the following questions: (1) Does it match the curriculum?, (2) Is it accurate and current?, (3) Does it contain clear and concise language?, (4) Will it arouse motivation and maintain interest?, (5) Does it provide for learner participation?, (6) Is it of good technical quality?, (7) Is there evidence of its effectiveness (e.g. field test results)?, (8) Is it free from objectionable bias and advertising?, and (9) Is a user guide or other documentation included?.
There are some principles of mobile learning proposed by Elias (2011). These Universal Instructional Design (UID) principles have been developed to incorporate both instructional design and operating systems of educational materials so that they can meet the differences among students. Those principles are: (1) equitable use, (2) flexible use, (3) simple and intuitive, (4) perceptible information, (5) tolerance of error, (6) low physical and technical effort, (7) community of learners and support, and (8) instructional climate.
hazards and adverse consequences of errors in software operation. Then, low physical and technical effort means that the design has simple operation. Next, the community of learners and support can be done by developing groups and support from appropriate tools, thus learners can scaffold and help each other. The last one is instructional climate. The instructor should interact with the learners (course delivery) in various ways.
c. Mobile Assissted Language Learning (MALL)
As the users of mobile devices including smartphones, tablets, and other PDAs increase and the access of the internet gets easier and broader, it becomes more common to make use of mobile devices to support language learning. Related to enhancing technology in language learning, Computer Assisted Language
Learning (CALL) has been familiar so far. Beatty (2003) defines CALL as “any
process in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her
language”. Generally CALL promotes the learners to develop various language
Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is a subarea of the growing field of mobile learning. Meanwhile, Stockwell and Hubbard (2013) have tried to draw a link among the three concepts of learning: Mobile Learning (ML), Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as presented in the diagram below.
Figure 2.4 The Relationship of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Mobile Learning (ML), and Mobile Assisted Language Learning
(MALL)
According to the figure above, the shaded area shows the overlap or similar characteristics of those three learning types. MALL has some principles which are similar to those in CALL and ML. Those similar characteristics should be understood as belonging to the other two disciplines, rather than being apart from them.
There are some considerations in integrating mobile devices into the language learning. Stockwell and Hubbard (2013) propose ten principles as the basis for developing and implementing mobile language learning. These principles focus on general lessons from implementing technology applications in language learning.
environment where the device will be used. As the focus is on language learning, the affordances and limitations should be linked to the principles in second language learning and relate them to the real context in which the learning process occurs.
The second principle is limiting multi-tasking and environmental distractions. Many people are not good at multi-tasking so it causes stress, errors, and less productivity. Therefore, the activities and the environment should be conditioned in such an effective way that learners can concentrate more on the given tasks.
The third principle is pushing, but respecting boundaries. The push mechanism can prompt the learners to do an action, but it can also help learners understand when and how frequently they will receive the reminders. It may distract
learners’ attention toward the learning task. In that way, learners should be able to
control and accomodate when the push events occur.
The next principle is striving to maintain equity. It is necessary to gather information about whether learners have mobile devices, what devices they have, the connectivity, and the expense needed. All those factors should be considered in maintaining the equity within the learning environment.
The fifth principle is acknowledging and planning for accomodating language learner differences. In developing mobile application, different kinds of
students’ learning styles should be taken into account. Mobile learning should facilitate various learner styles so that all learners can learn comfortably.
Next, the sixth principle is being aware of language learners’ existing uses
for personal usage and social media, rather than for educational tools. That is why the application should be consistent in providing useful tasks for developing
students’ skills so that learners will get used to it.
The seventh principle is keeping mobile language learning activities and tasks short and concise when possible. The tasks should be designed in smaller and coherent chunks so that learners will get access into the tasks easily. Besides, the tasks should be adjusted with the learning goals and objectives in the syllabus.
The next principle is letting the language learning task fit the technology and environment, and vice versa. The tasks should consider the mobility of the learners, the time allocation, the skills to be focussed on, the technology or devices that are used and also the environment where learners do the tasks (library, classroom, or homes).
The ninth principle is that some or most learners will need guidance and training to effectively use mobile devices for language learning. To use mobile devices in language learning faces some challenges. The implementation of using mobile devices in language learning is in the hand of the users. In this case, learners need to be trained in order to use the devices as efficient as possible.
The last principle is recognizing and accomodating multiple stakeholders. To implement MALL, it will be more helpful to involve other parties beside the
learners, including the principal and the parents to support and monitor students’
progress in learning by using mobile devices.
consider the availability, the utility, and also the accessibility of those devices for language learning.
4. Android
Nowadays technology has grown vastly around the world. The existence of gadgets and many other electronic devices, especially mobile devices, supports the development of information and communication. According to Riggs and Vandenbrink (2001), mobile device refers to any type of computer device that has the capability to connect to the internet without a permanent cable connection. The device allows users to have access to the internet through wireless connection. Meanwhile, Trifonova et al. (2004) state that mobile devices commonly refer to
PDAs and digital cell phones, but more generally they refer to “any device that is
small, autonomous and unobstrusive enough to accompany us in every moment”.
In brief, the characteristics of mobile devices are the practicality, portability, and usability for various kinds of tasks.
