The Use of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in Teaching Speaking

Introduction

      Speaking is the important skill from four language skills (listening, writing, reading). But it is also important to master all of the skills to achieve fluency. Speaking is a hard thing to be mastered for english students, but there are people that think speaking is not hard at all.

  

     The focus of teaching speaking, of course, is to improve the oral production of the students. Therefore, language teaching activities in the classroom should aim at maximizing individual language use (Haozhang, 1997). In the past, oral communication instruction was neglected because of the misconception that oral communication competence develops naturally over time and that the cognitive skills involved in writing automatically transfer to analogous oral communication skills (Chaney,1998). However, Ur (1996) considered speaking as the most important skill among four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) because people who know a language are referred to as speakers of that language. This indicates that using a language is more important than just knowing about it because there is no point knowing a lot about language if you can’t use it (Scrivener,2005,p.146).

     Zhang (2009) argued that speaking remains the most difficult skill to master for the majority of English learners, and they are still incompetent in communicating orally in English. According to Ur (1996), there are many factors that cause difficulty in speaking, and they areas follows: 1.Inhibition. Students are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism, or simply shy. 2.Nothing to say. Students have no motive to express themselves. 3.Low or uneven participation. Only one participant can talk at a time because of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others speak very little or not at all.

      In addition, Rababa’h (2005) pointed out that there are many factors that cause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners. Some of these factors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the curriculum, and the environment. For example, many learners lack the necessary vocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep the interaction going. Inadequate strategic competence and communication competence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep the interaction going. Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English. They do not see a real need to learn or speak English. Actually motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preservers (Littlewood, 1984, p.53). The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around them (Littlewood, 1981).

      In teaching speaking most of the teachers use approach, teaching model, teaching methods, learning strategies, or specific learning techniques for teaching speaking. Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is one of the learning model that can be used to help speaking class.

      The benefit of using technology according to Cabanban in his research (2013) is the use of smartphone as the part of lifestyle in Indonesian society, the function of smartphone is not only to communicate but transformed into the tools that used to socialize, entertaining and learning.

      Cinnery (2006) explains some advantages of using Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as its availability, portability and lower cost compared to the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The aims of this study are to reveals the process and result of improving English speaking ability through Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) Learning model.

The Nature of Speaking Skill

It is mentioned in the literature that, naturally, to speak means to produce some words representing one’s ideas. Itis a process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts (Chaney, 1998 in Kayi, 2006). 

Psychological Factors That Hinder Students from Speaking

 1.      Fear of Mistake

 2.      Shyness

 3.      Anxiety

 4.      Lack of Confidence

 5.      Lack of Motivation

Research Findings

Despite unique advantages, there are some constraints that limit the capability of mobile devices. In the aspect of usability, screen size, battery life, storage, and slow downloading are several constraints related to the use of mobile devices for learning.

Conclusion

Mobile Assisted Language Learning has emerged as a potential assistive tool in the complex process of language learning. Technological advances in the last quarter of the last century have made it mandatory for the teachers to employ technology as a tool to help in the process of teaching and learning.

Referencies

Kayi, Hayriye, (2006), Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language.

Hieu, Trung, (2011), Students Lack Confidence To Use English.Horwitz, Elaine. K., & Horwitz, Michael. B. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. Joann Cope Source:The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 125-130.

Juhana (2012)Psychological Factors That Hinder Students from Speaking in English Class (A Case Study in a Senior High School in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia)The English Department, Indonesia Open University- Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.orgVol 3, No 12, 2012.

Liu, Meihua. (2007). Anxiety In Oral English Classrooms: A Case Study In China. Indonesian Journal ofEnglish Language Teaching Volume 3/Number 1 May 2007. pp. 119-121.

Zhao Na. (2007). A Study of High School Students’ English Learning Anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly. Volume 9, Issue 3. 
Hadi, Muhamad Sofian. "THE USE OF MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (MALL) IN TEACHING WRITING". https://www.academia.edu/36316786/Asia_TEFL_full_paper , accessed June 21st 2018.

C.L.G. Cabanban. 2013. Development of Mobile Learning Using Android Platform. International Journal of Information Technology & Computer Science (IJITCS), May/June, 2013, Volume 9, Number 1.

G.M Chinnery. 2006. Emerging Technologies Going to MALL: Mobile Assisted Language Learning. (Language Learning & Technology Volume 10.