English teachers' use of mobile devices in sourcing literature materials for language teaching

Abstract

Literature is considered an effective vehicle for teaching English and enhancing ESL learners’ communicative competence (CC). In the Kingdom of Eswatini, literature is not a stand-alone subject at primary school level, and there are limited resources available to English teachers interested in teaching language through literature. This therefore calls for English teachers to use their mobile devices to source literature materials which have been considered as authentic materials. Despite having a background in literature and at least one mobile device, ESL primary teachers seem not to use mobile devices to source literature materials for teaching English, preferring to use prescribed textbooks and other learning materials. It would also seem that learners are not taught to develop their CC from primary school level, thus progressing to the junior secondary school level without the requisite competence. As studies have not adequately focused on mobile devices as possible avenues for sourcing literature materials for teaching English, it has created the impression that literature materials are always only available in print. This interpretivist multisite qualitative explanatory case study investigated factors influencing Eswatini ESL in-service teachers’ attitudinal beliefs in regard to adopting mobile devices for sourcing literature materials for language teaching. The study used purposeful, convenience and snowball sampling in selecting nine ESL teacher participants. Data were generated through observations, interviews and document analysis. Through the lens of Venkatesh et al.’s unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), Davis’s technology acceptance model (TAM), Mishra and Koehler’s technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) frameworks, the researcher was able to analyse and interpret the generated data. An inductive thematic analysis was employed and emerging themes included tender-age literary exposure for language proficiency, confidence deficiency in content knowledge and TPACK, learners’ reading culture deficiency, time deficiency, lack of facilities for technologically embedded costs, dogmatism, and coerced willingness. The findings revealed that despite the fact that ESL teachers had positive attitudinal beliefs about using mobile devices for sourcing literature material for language teaching, they did not in fact source them, thereby creating a gap between their desire and the supposedly attained goal. The study recommends on-the-job TPACK training for pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as transformational leadership training for school principals, tertiary institutions should review their English curricula to include literature, language and technology integration, and that Wi-Fi should be made available in schools so that ESL teachers may provide more reading opportunities for learners from different socioeconomic backgrounds to enhance their CC.