Influence of mobile phone’s technology on learners’ grammar: an evaluation of public day secondary schools in Nakuru county, Kenya
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Date
2014
Authors
Okoth, Pamellah Atienoh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to establish any influence of mobile phone technology on learners‟ classroom English grammar in day public secondary schools, in Nakuru North district and Nakuru Municipality. Grammar is essential in any piece of writing for meaning to be realized yet from previous studies, the findings revealed that learners are performing poorly in written English where it is exclusively grammar. Studies done in and outside the country on mobile phones have revealed that the use of short message service (SMS) has contributed to learners‟ poor performance in grammar. The study was guided by five objectives: to establish how learners interact with mobile phone in writing, establish whether the differences in learners‟ interaction with the device in Nakuru North district and Nakuru Municipality are significant, examine mobile phone influence on learners‟ performance, identify features of the gadget that may enhance learners‟ grammar and finally examine teachers‟ perception on learners‟ use of mobile phone in teaching and learning of English language. The study employed a descriptive survey research design and the instruments used in data collection included composition essay test and questionnaires for 194 students while questionnaire and interview schedules administered to 14 teachers of English language. The study used the multistage sampling procedure, where day schools were purposively selected in the two locations. Students were sampled using proportional random sampling to include both boys and girls while teachers of English language were sampled using purposive sampling. Data was analyzed by employing Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) programme which produced statistical measures such as frequency, means, percentages and standard deviation. The different means were then subjected to a T-test which determined the level of significance of how different groups used mobile phones. The results revealed that 43% of the students in Nakuru Municipality accessed and utilized mobile phones 11-20 times compared to 66% in Nakuru North who accessed and used them 1-10 times each day; learners‟ interaction with the mobile phones in both locations varied slightly, with a mean difference of 2.38 with Nakuru Municipality outshining Nakuru North with a mean difference of 1.99 in vocabulary. (86%) of the teachers interviewed acknowledged that mobile phone usage affects learners‟ grammar both positively and negatively. In conclusion, most learners access mobile phone and use them for a range of purposes; learners‟ interaction difference with mobile phone between the two locations were statistically significant at P<0.05 with a t-value = 4.852 at 192 degrees of freedom; frequent access to the mobile phone correlates positively with learners‟ performance in English grammar; features that may improve learners‟ performance in grammar include Google search, SMS, facebook and twitter. Teachers observed that Google search can improve learners‟ grammar whereas SMS and Facebook can enhance writing skills. The study recommended that curriculum developers should include teaching of SMS language in the syllabus and sites that can improve learners‟ language skills such as You-Tube, WhatsApp, voice recorder, google search among others can be ventured
Description
Department of Educational Communication and Technology, 103p. 2014