Examining Attitudes towards and Usage of Smartphone Technology among Japanese University Students Studying EFL

Abstract

In this last decade there has been an explosion of innovative mobile technology and applications that have been made available to the public. With the introduction of the smartphone, sophisticated digital devices are now ubiquitously available in classrooms. While there are many positives to the use of smartphones for educational purposes, there are still several obstacles to the implementation of mobile technology in the classroom. In 2011, White and Mills (2012) collected data from 403 Japanese university students regarding their adoption, usage of and attitudes towards smartphones for the purpose of language learning. The following paper presents the results of research collected regarding these factors one year later. A comparison of the two data sets shows that students are increasingly adopting smartphones for personal use but are still reluctant to use the devices for education purposes, based on current application usage. However, attitudes towards the use of these devices for learning have become more positive in the 12-month period.