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The perspective transformation away from the traditional whole-class, teacher-centred strategy towards a learner-centred strategy, combined with the emergence of various technologies, has motivated language educators to embrace and start exploring the innovations in novel ways across a variety of teaching contexts, most notably in the teaching of English as a second language (Martinez-Alba & Cruzado-Guerrero, 2019). According to the research, teachers now have a plethora of resources at their disposal, from laptops to tablets, to online courses, planners, and virtual instructors that can assist them in teaching their learners to engage in reading and writing, while also educating and assist them in the future. Therefore, language learning could be conducted via new technologies in the new norm of teaching and learning.
The potential learning opportunities in mobile learning as beneficial to students despite the lack of consideration of the learning factors (Bernacki et al., 2020). Several studies have shown numerous ways in which mobile technology devices have been utilised to promote learning. Students execute learning activity using their mobile phones as a medium (Jeng et al., 2010) to seek help (Reeves & Sperling, 2015) and engage in collaborative learning. These mobile technologies such as WhatsApp can be used to promote positive behaviours during learning to improve student participation (Chen et al., 2020). The fundamental role of mobile learning plays an impact in making learning more successful, and it has been recognised in a large number of studies. In English language learning, Shadiev et al. (2017) found that the research trends were chiefly focused on mobile learning with constructivism and collaborative frameworks that showed positive outcomes. It has been established that English as a Second Language (ESL) writing can be improved by encouragement and building up confidence in the language (Ahmed, 2019). Attention should be given to ESL classes in order to prepare learners to cope with the communicative demands of real-life situations. Chohan (2011) agrees that the skills and techniques of writing are best learnt when learners are allowed to organize and convey their thoughts and given opportunities to reflect on their experiences. The individual quality of argumentative writing, as well as the intricacies of the writing ability, added the need to examine it in detail.
Teacher’s role in ESL writing and technology that have been extensively researched. It included the roles teachers, and students’ role in learning writing, the challenges faced in ESL writing (Hafifah, 2020), teachers’ perceptions of mobile technology for ESL writing and teachers’ preferred form of technology for ESL writing lessons (Azlan & Yunus, 2020) . Generally, these studies agreed that technology improved ESL writing skills, and students enjoyed learning writing via an online platform, which resulted in better performance (Chen et al., 2020). Research has long proven that English students urgently need help in higher education settings to improve their academic writing skills and excel in their career goals (Ankeny, 2019). Teachers have tried to integrate technology into the curriculum in practical ways, as cell phones have become a standard in classrooms in other countries (Bensalem, 2018). Due to its accessibility and power to connect students beyond the classroom walls, mobile messaging applications have attracted attention as a tool to facilitate academic teaching.