Enhancements and Limitations to ICT Based Informal Language Learning: Emerging Research and Opportunities

230 Pages·2020·1.541 MB·

by  Rashad Ahmed, Abdu Al-kadi,  Trenton Hagar

Enhancements and
Limitations to ICT-
Based Informal Language
Learning:
Emerging Research and
Opportunities
Rashad Ahmed
Miami University, USA
Abdu Al-kadi
Ibb University, Yemen
Trenton Hagar
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
A volume in the Advances in
Linguistics and Communication
Studies (ALCS) Book Series
Published in the United States of America by
IGI Global
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ahmed, Rashad, 1985- editor. | Al-kadi, Abdu, 1980- editor. | Hagar,
Trenton, 1973- editor.
Title: Enhancements and limitations to ICT-based informal language learning:
emerging research and opportunities / Rashad Ahmed, Abdu Al-kadi, and Trenton Hagar.
Description: Hershey, PA : Information Science Reference, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “This book explores how
learners perform ICT-based activities beyond classroom teaching. It also
assesses the linguistic gains generated by informal ICT uses and
suggests tools of gauging informal learning outcomes and possible
effects on learners’ proficiency”-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019036936 (print) | LCCN 2019036937 (ebook) | ISBN
9781799821168 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781799821175 (paperback) | ISBN
9781799821182 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: English language--Study and teaching--Computer-assisted
instruction for foreign speakers. | Mobile communication systems in
education.
Classification: LCC PE1128.3 .E65 2020 (print) | LCC PE1128.3 (ebook) |
DDC 428.0078/5--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036936
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036937

This book is published in the IGI Global book series Advances in Linguistics and Communication
Studies (ALCS) (ISSN: 2372-109X; eISSN: 2372-1111)
British Cataloguing in Publication Data
A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.
All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material.
The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher.
For electronic access to this publication, please contact: [email protected].
Editorial Advisory Board
Muhammad Alasmari, University of Memphis, USA
Abdullah Alfaifi, University of Indiana, Bloomington, USA
Mohamed Daoud, Carthage University, Tunisia
Yusuf Demir, Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey
Faiza Derbel, Manouba University, Tunisia
Cahit Erdem, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey
Christopher Hastings, Southwest Tennessee Community College, USA
Galip Kartal, Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey
Mehmet Koçyiğit, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey
Tahar Labassi, University of Tunis, Tunisia
S. Mohanraj, The English and Foreign Language University, India
Gülçin Mutlu, İzmir Democracy University, Turkey
Mirella Silva, University of Memphis, USA
Christopher Williams, Raytheon, USA
List of Reviewers
Mayada Al-Maktary, Manouba University, Tunisia
Najeeb Al-Mansoob, BAM University, India
Hussein Almaktary, ISLAB, Tunisia
Mohialdeen Alotumi, Sana’a University, Yemen
Taha Hezam, Bisha University, Saudi Arabia
Ferit Kılıçkaya, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey
Saadet Korucu-Kis, Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey

Xinghua Liu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Asma Maaoui, University of Tunis, Tunisia
Emine Şendurur, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey
Amr Yassin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Table of Contents
Foreword...............................................................................................................ix
Preface..................................................................................................................xii
Acknowledgment................................................................................................xxi
Introduction.......................................................................................................xxii
Section 1
Chapter 1
Informal.language.Practices.via.Digital.Technology:.The.Neglected.Proficiency.1
Abdu M.Talib Al-kadi, Ibb University, Yemen
Chapter 2
A.Guide.for.Mobile-Assisted.Language.Learning.in.Informal.Settings:.
Pedagogical.and.Design.Perspectives...................................................................24
Emine Şendurur, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey
Chapter 3
Impediments.to.Gauging.ICT-Based.Informal.English.Learning.Outcomes.......54
Taha Ahmed Hezam, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia
Section 2
Chapter 4
Learner-Initiated.Language.Learning.Through.Social.Media.Sites.(SMSs)........69
Rashad Ali Ahmed, Miami University, USA

Chapter 5
Adult.Language.Learners’.Informal.Employment.of.ICT.Applications.and.
Websites.to.Assess.Their.English.Skills...............................................................89
Ferit Kılıçkaya, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey
Chapter 6
An.Investigation.into.EFL.Pre-Service.Teachers’.Out-of-Class.Self-
Regulated.Learning.Experiences.weith.ICT.......................................................112
Saadet Korucu-Kis, Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey
Chapter 7
EFL.Learning.Beyond.the.Wall.with.MALL:.College.Students’.Perceptions....138
Mohialdeen Alotumi, Sana’a University, Yemen
Chapter 8
Formalizing.Informal.CALL.in.Learning.English.Language.Skills...................161
Norizan Abdul Razak, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Amr Abdullatif Yassin, Ibb University, Yemen
Tg Nor Rizan Tg Mohamad Maasum, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
Malaysia
Related Readings...............................................................................................183
About the Contributors....................................................................................197
Index...................................................................................................................200
ix
Foreword
Information and communication technology (ICT), formerly referred to as information
technology (IT), is now common as digital technology. It provides access to information
through telecommunication. Although ICT is similar to IT, its primary focus is on
communicative technology. Synchronous and asynchronous communication modes
have provided food for thought in academia for years. The omnipresence of modern
ICTs including the Internet, cell phones, social media, and other communicative
channels have created new conditions and environments to learn foreign languages
quickly and easily inside and outside the classroom. The book “Enhancement and
Limitations to ICT-based Informal Language Learning” is the product of authors,
editors, reviewers, and advisory editorial board who are all well-suited to tackle its
subject-matter – as they are educators with myriad international experiences in the
field of learning and teaching English as a second language.
This publication draws chiefly on two learning paradigms: technology-enhanced
learning (TELL) and informal language learning. It overthrows the hegemony of
formalized learning and hails informal learning as a patent part of humankind,
while also focusing on informal learning under the aegis of digital technologies. It
accounts for the implications of shortening the distance between formal and informal
learning of English as a second language (L2). In fact, using ICT in formal language
learning is no novelty as it has been in use since the inception of early CALL in
the 1960s – the period during which technologies were employed in systematic
and planned ways to facilitate learning mechanism in formal education. Later on,
advances in digital ICTs gave way to new learning settings, opportunities, strategies,
and inducement. Advances in learning and teaching paradigms and technological
innovations reciprocally allowed social and collaborative learning in face-to-face
settings as well as in non-administered situations, largely in virtual spaces. This
book is centered on this latter learning mode. It rests on the merits of informal
language learning and it minimizes the hoopla that surrounds classroom learning. It
builds–through digital technology– a bridge between formal and informal learning.
The mission of the book is to support a balanced and flexible learning environment
in lieu of the long-established formal education confinements.
Foreword
The book contains two sections: theoretical accounts and empirical studies.
Whereas the former comprises the first three chapters that lay the theoretical
background of the book, the latter compiles evidence of learning with ICT in
informal situations. All chapters were written with an awareness that they will be
especially useful for pedagogues, researchers and teachers who are interested in L2
learning and teaching, CALL, TESOL, and education. The chapters have profound
implications for L2 pedagogy (English is a working example). They exhibit how
learners manipulate accessible ICTs to enhance their learning of English beyond
the traditional classroom. By suggesting how to apply methods and techniques of
learning language in an informal manner, the audience of the book will be able to
enhance formal English by making informal decisions and better choices on the
basis of the research findings delineated in the chapters.
The book is indeed an important addition to the existing scholarly works in the
area of TELL. One important issue the book has taken up is that the advent of digital
technology has given English a new status. English has become the mother-tongue
of online communities because many ICT users communicate through English.
That is, English is not exclusively taught through books in schools and universities
to non-English speakers. The traditional classification of English as English as
a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) has been
subsided partially due to this worldwide electronic usage of the language. By using
English online or through ICT applications or games, users are exposed to varieties
of English, not only the standard British or American varieties. World Englishes
and English as a lingua franca (ELF) have become common in virtual spaces where
learners spend much of their time connected to technological innovations. Hence,
it seems awkward to stick to the old classifications of English when discussing
new technological advances that have facilitated and shaped new approaches to
language learning and teaching, and –overall– new ways of thinking. Furthermore,
the book brings to the foreground a multiple-method approach to assess informal
language intake. It pinpoints that language assessment formats such as multiple-
choice questions and matching activities in the form of quizzes, midterms or final
examinations are less suitable to evaluate informal language learning that results
from spontaneous uses of ICTs. Alternative assessment tools may be adopted instead
with a range of evaluation tools: quizzes, concept mapping, peer review, portfolios,
performance assessment, reflective writing and media creation, rubrics, interviews,
observations, and self-reporting. These alternative assessment tools enable learners
to have a say in what they learn. They become able to determine their learning
objectives independently from formal authorities, entrenching learning with elements
of autonomy and learner-centeredness.
Touching on the above, the book presents highly-readable and well-organized,
insightful ideas to re-orient English language teaching in the international context
x
Foreword
with a primary focus on ELF rather than EFL. The volume provides implications
for re-adjusting learning settings, broadening the learning ecology, and embracing
new learning venues, methods, strategies, and assessment tools. As ICT makes
language learning possible anywhere at any time, the common term of ‘classroom’
is replaced by learning spaces. In essence, the book instills self-governing learning
elements into the language learners to be linked with what they learn formally. The
contributors hold the view that learners should be given an opportunity to determine
what and how to learn: to learn on their own, monitor and assess their learning.
Only when formal and informal learning activities are pedagogically interlined can
we capitalize on informal learning significance.
Abraham Panavelil
University of Nizwa, Oman
xi