Exploring the Implications of M-Learning on Student Engagement in English Language Teaching: The Case of First-Year Students at a Teaching Training Institute (E.N.S), Algeria

Pedro et al. (2018) stated that only a few studies were related with the use of m-learning from the professors or teachers’ standpoint. It is also curious that only a few studies report the use of mobile devices or m-learning strategies in formal educational contexts (Pedro et al., 2018). Thus, the necessity to extend research on the implications of m-learning on student engagement from students’ and teachers’ standpoint in formal setting was needed. If we link that to a case study, one feature of case study is the idea of exploring multiple perspectives, which is in my case, students, teachers, and -as it was hoped- institutional leaders. Reviewing the literature, Ghomari (2015) argued that teaching English in the Algerian university faces some difficulties in guaranteeing the attainment of communicative competence in English for its students. This deficiency is the natural outcome of traditional non-native classroom environment that suffers an acute lack of interpersonal interactions in the target language and no exposure to authentic environments, which are two basic elements in the acquisition of a foreign language. Consequently, I felt the need to search for an understanding about the implications of m-learning on student engagement in light of social constructivism as a pedagogical approach and this contributes to my understanding of the appropriate teaching approach namely communicative competence approach. To this end, the aim of this research is to explore teachers’ and students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the implications of m-learning on student engagement in EFL being vital in effective implementation, improvement, change and intention formation. This research uses qualitative data collection methods; semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and reflective journals. For the action research, I applied an intervention course supported by a pedagogical approach based on social constructivism. Three m-learning apps were used; Kahoot, Padlet and Sli.do to explore the possibilities and the implications for future implementation of m-learning in the Algerian higher education institutions. The results were thematically analysed.