Using Tablet Applications as Assistive Tools in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Introduction

Those who teach English, often encounter pupils that find it difficult to cope with the acquisition of this language and with the development of English comprehension skills. This is especially evident in pupils diagnosed with learning disabilities. Because of the large number of these pupils, it is important to discover teaching means for this language that could assist their learning, create a successful experience for pupils, and improve their motivation for learning English. Research that examined the contribution of tablet-assisted interventions found that they were able to provide positive contributions (Seifert, 2015). However comprehensive review in this field reveals that a large proportion of these studies lacked methodological rigor in group design studies (Kim, Park & Coleman, 2017).

The present study examined the contribution of tablet applications for the acquisition of the English language and improvement of reading and comprehension skills in two groups of Grade 4 pupils: a group diagnosed with learning disabilities in comparison with a group who were not diagnosed with such disabilities. In order to examine the effectiveness of the tablet applications, use was made of applications in the area of English language studies. These applications are intended to improve the level of pupils' motivation for learning, and have been proven to influence the pupils' decision-making processes and determine their level of progress, and the extent of guidance and effort that will be invested in the learning activities (Cole, Field & Harris, 2004).

In order to examine the effectiveness of tablet applications, lesson plans were prepared combining applications for recital, recording and listening in English, games to exercise vocabulary etc.