الملخص الإنجليزي
Mobile devices have dramatically expanded in popularity and availability in
people's daily lives and have become an essential component of the modern
Educational paradigm. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of using
mobile learning on improving adult learners listening skills in the Omani context, to
investigate their attitudes towards using Mobile-learning, and to explore the factors
that stand as barriers to its implementation. The study is a quasi- experimental study
and the sample consisted of 31 male Omani students enrolled in the foundation
program at a military educational institute, divided into two classes. The experimental
class had 15 students and the control one had 16 students. The two classes were
randomly assigned among the five available classes in the current level of the
foundation program. The control group students worked with the coursebook listening
activities while the students in the experimental group worked with the listening
activities following mobile-based instruction. Listening comprehension tests (Pre-test
and Post-test) and an attitude questionnaire were administered to collect the needed
data to answer the research questions.
The results showed the effectiveness of contextualizing m-learning practice on
improving listening skills and revealed the merits of the integration of mobile phones
in a foreign language class. The major findings of this study are as follows:
1. There were statistically significant differences at (α≤0.05) level between
the post-test mean scores of the experimental group taught listening skills
by using mobile learning and the control group taught listening skills by
conventional methods, in favour of the experimental group.
2. The participants had positive attitudes towards using mobile learning in
improving their listening comprehension skills. They found that mobile
learning enhanced their motivation, increased their exposure, expanded
their vocabulary repertoire, and provided easy access to "anytime" and
"everywhere" learning.
3. The participants in the study emphasized some challenges that were
related to mobile software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, network
connections, and the listening content.
4. The participants also suggested redesigning a new mobile software that
meets users' needs and gives a better attention to the functionality,
usability, operability, and attractiveness issues.
Based on the findings, some educational implications and recommendations in this
area are suggested.
