Abstract
Incorporating English as a foreign language (EFL) courses in Indonesian schools and kindergartens has been encouraged by the government due to its benefits for the students' future careers. Indonesian teachers then utilize many methods to improve students' English skills, especially using digital technology. One of the most used digital devices nowadays in language education is the smartphone, as they have the potential to provide users with unique features such as interactive and portable learning, and even provide feedback for the users in real time. This exploratory qualitative study investigates Indonesian families' (n = 10) and teachers' (n = 10) perspectives on using smartphones for early second language acquisition (ESLA) in children aged 0-7. A semi-structured interview was used to explore the participants' perspectives and data were analyzed using the grounded theory and content analysis. The study found that families and teachers have more negative perceptions than positive ones, as they view that the drawbacks a smartphone brings to a child outweighs the benefits.
TopIntroduction
Incorporating English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses in Indonesian schools and kindergartens has been encouraged by the government due to its benefits for the students’ future careers (Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, 2022). Teachers then utilize many methods to improve students’ English skills, especially using digital technology. One of the most used digital devices nowadays in education is the smartphone. In this context, it must be highlighted that Indonesia is the fourth country in the world in terms of smartphone users, hitting around 178,000,000 users (Newzoo, 2021). This figure shows that more than half of Indonesian population use smartphone, making it as one of the most accessible digital technologies for teachers and families to use as tools of learning language. Nowadays, even very young children can be found using phone not only to study but also to spend their time on playing games, communicating with friends and family, and even engaging in social medias.
However, as other digital devices, smartphones have benefits and drawbacks (Kacetl & Klimova, 2019). Smartphones have the potential to provide its users with unique features such as interactive learning, portable learning media platforms, and some even provide feedbacks for the users in real time due to its continuous connectivity to the internet. The features are also attractive and dynamic, which can provide more motivation and interest for the students. Moreover, smartphones are also relatively cheap compared to other digital learning devices, making them more accessible to the public (Gafni et al., 2017).
On the other hand, smartphones also have their drawbacks. Smartphones’ portability that comes from its small size also brings disadvantages, as small screen and limited size of keypads may affect learners in learning comfortably. In fact, learners must scroll numerous times to read a paragraph, making it less practical than reading a book where the learners can see the whole page instantly. The need of continuous connectivity to internet might also pose a problem, such as limited signal or internet access (Gafni et al., 2017). Learners might have to purchase expensive package of large gigabytes of internet just to learn or might have to find places with wi-fi before being able to start their lesson.
Focusing on young children, all these benefits and drawbacks must then be borne in mind and even thought carefully in early childhood settings by both families and teachers, especially because of the danger of its high usage and the different impacts (e.g., poorer sleep quality) it might have towards developing young children. Smartphones have been reported to support or improve the development of young children’s fine motor skills since they are mainly operated using fingers. Moreover, the applications, especially the educational ones, are also found to support cognitive development such as executive function and problem solving (Mallawaarachchi et al., 2022). Nevertheless, smartphones also have their shares of problems when being used by young children as learning tools. Mallawaarachchi et al. (2022) found that increased early childhood usage of smartphones and tablet were weakly correlated poorer developmental factors such as cognitive and psychosocial development. Similarly, the continuous usage of smartphones and tablets in young children also correlated with increased poorer sleep outcomes.
Due to this dilemma between benefits and drawbacks, this study will explore Indonesian teachers’ and families’ perceptions in using smartphone as tools for foreign language education, especially in supporting early second language learning. The exploration will cover participants’ opinions regarding their experiences, their perceived benefits and drawbacks of using it as language learning tools, and their preferred device or recommendation in supporting their children’s L2 learning.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Early Second Language Learning: In this work, also understood as Early Second Language Acquisition (ESLA), Early Second Language Learning refers to when children of early age, usually younger than 7 years old, learn a language other than their native/main language. The target language can be acquired through formal learning as well as in other informal social and interpersonal circumstances (Brooks & Kempe, 2014 AU55: The in-text citation "Brooks & Kempe, 2014" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Verheist et al., 2009 AU56: The in-text citation "Verheist et al., 2009" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Content Analysis: A systematic technique for compressing words into fewer categories based on a specific rule of coding. A systematic inference of objective and systematic identification in specifying characteristics of messages (Stemler, 2000 AU54: The in-text citation "Stemler, 2000" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Qualitative Research: A type of research that studies aspects or variables of social life that are not able to be quantified using quantitative measurements. It uses a range of methods to find meanings and interprets social phenomenon and processes in particular contexts ( Jupp, 2006 ).
Semi-Structured Interview: a qualitative research instrument that combines a pre-determined set of open with the possibility for the interviewer to explore specific themes or responses further.
Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL): A method of language learning that utilizes smartphone/mobile phone ( Miangah & Nezarat, 2012 ). MALL has several characteristics (i.e., portability, individuality, unobtrusiveness, availability, persistence, useful, and usability) that differentiate it from the umbrella term Computer-Assisted Language Learning ( Klimova, 2017 ).
Indonesian Preschool Education: The preschool period in Indonesia starts from 0 years old and ends when the children reach 7 years old. At 7 years old, the children are already encouraged to start their primary level (Guswandi, 2021 AU57: The in-text citation "Guswandi, 2021" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Any language learning process where the learner utilizes a digital device, usually refers to language learning process that utilizes desktop computers and its software programs, applications, and online websites such as blogs or vlogs, and virtual learning environments or online courses ( Gafni et al., 2017 ).