The Uses of Smartphones among EFL Learners and their Effects on Vocabulary Learning in Foreign Language English Preparatory School

There have been so many developments and innovations in technology recently and technology use is a way of life for most of us. The smartphone is the most known one and it is used by many. This study attempts to find how EFL learners use smartphones and what effects smartphones might have on their learning English vocabulary. This experimental study was conducted at Eastern Mediterranean University in English Preparatory School. A total of 60 learners from four intermediate level preparatory classes participated in this study. Survey design and experimental design was conducted. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods technique were used. A Background questionnaire was administered in order to decide on which smartphone application to use. Based on the results of this questionnaire, WhatsApp was employed. Pre-test was administered to both experimental and control group to measure participants‟ knowledge of the given words. As part of an experimental design, 30 experimental group of learners received WhatsApp messages via the smartphone containing a number of target words. On the other hand, another 30 control group learner received the same target words in a handout in a traditional way simultaneously. Each target word entry involved a definition, an example, word parts, visual illustration, associations, and collocations. A total of twenty-one words were presented to both the experimental and control group learners in a period of 10 days. A post-test was administered after all target words were sent out to measure the effect of the new application on vocabulary learning. In addition to the post-test, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on smartphone use. Lastly, the researcher had a semi-structured interview with two participant volunteers in order to gather further information about the use of the smartphone (i.e. WhatsApp) in a vocabulary learning experiment. The results of the study show that the preparatory EFL learners use their smartphones for both personal purposes and educational purposes. Moreover, smartphones seem to promote the learners‟ English language learning and specifically vocabulary learning. Particularly, vocabulary learning via WhatsApp has a statistically significant effect on learners‟ vocabulary learning. The findings of the study suggest that teachers should integrate smartphone applications such as WhatsApp into vocabulary. Also, this application seems to be useful in promoting autonomy in vocabulary learning because it gives the learners the chance to recycle vocabulary in their own time and it assist learners in developing their vocabulary learning skills whenever and wherever they wish. Keywords: Vocabulary learning, target words, smartphones, applications, Mobile Assisted Language Learning, WhatsApp