Students' perceptions of the use of mobile applications technology in learning Arabic as a second language
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Razak W. Abedalla
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Pinchot, Jamie L.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Robert Morris University
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2015
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
237
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
Committee members: Cellante, Donna; Draus, Peter
NOTES PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Text of Note
Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-321-72852-1
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
D.Sc.
Discipline of degree
Information Systems and Communications
Body granting the degree
Robert Morris University
Text preceding or following the note
2015
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
As of 2015, Arabic is one of the strategic languages today. Due to the current state of the Arab homeland politics and recent events of instability in that region, it has become crucial for Americans to learn more about Arab culture and to learn the Arabic language. Arabic is not an easy language to learn for non-native speakers because of its syntactic complexity, lexical sophistication, and variety of scripts and dialects. There is also a lack of literature on the use of mobile applications (apps) technology in learning Arabic; therefore, the researcher chose to focus on the Arabic language in the current study. Mobile technologies have inspired people and educators to use them not only in communications, but also in teaching. Therefore, this study examined students' use of mobile assisted language learning (MALL) apps technology as a supplemental tool to improve their Arabic learning. This study also identified students' perceptions toward the use of MALL apps in the learning of Arabic as a second language. A mixed-method research approach was used to examine the research problem. A questionnaire was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The participants were male and female college students who were recruited from different majors of study from three universities in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Some of the participants were studying Arabic online and the others were studying Arabic in the classroom. The findings were positive as the majority of the participants liked to use MALL apps in learning Arabic. MALL apps were very helpful and convenient for the participants. The participants reported that MALL apps helped them to improve their speaking proficiency and to improve their Arabic learning skills. The participants were also able to connect with other participants in the class and others beyond the classroom. MALL apps also assisted the participants in comparing their own language and culture with the Arabic language and culture.
TOPICAL NAME USED AS SUBJECT
Linguistics; Communication; Higher education; Arabic language; Arabic as a second language; Language culture relationship; College students; Computer assisted language learning; Student attitudes; Politics; Questionnaires; Regional dialects; Language teaching methods; Middle Eastern studies; Syntactic complexity; Information technology
UNCONTROLLED SUBJECT TERMS
Subject Term
Language, literature and linguistics;Social sciences;Communication and the arts;Applied sciences;Education;Arabic as a second language;Mobile applications;Mobile assisted language learning;Mobile computing;Mobile learning