Author First name, Last name, Institution

Najat AlSaied, Zayed University
Fokiya Akhtar, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives

Publication Date

3-8-2021

Abstract

Purpose: A variety of alternate technology-enhanced teaching approaches are now available to university students to broaden their learning experiences and complement conventional face-to-face teaching. This paper aims to outline a study conducted at an English Medium Instruction (EMI) University in the Arabian Gulf where students were studying media. The study explored an innovative teaching approach that sought to enhance the students’ interaction with mobile phone applications as part of their learning experiences during the course. Design/methodology/approach: The focus of the study was on enhancing the students’ English writing skills such as vocabulary, spelling and grammar and on improving their technical skills such as in video production. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings: The results indicated that mobile phone applications were helpful in improving students’ journalistic writing skills where they had a good level of proficiency in English, more so than students with poor English who are more dependent on traditional learning methods. Students also benefitted from mobile phone video production workshops that were intensive and creative. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that courses and labs in media courses have skilled technicians that can train students in creative mobile phone video production while faculty members need to be trained and proactively encouraged to use mobile phones for teaching and learning purposes. Originality/value: wBased on the results of this study, it is recommended that courses and labs in media courses have skilled technicians that can train students in creative mobile phone video production while faculty members need to be trained and proactively encouraged to use mobile phones for teaching and learning purposes.

Publisher

Emerald

Volume

17

Issue

1

First Page

4

Last Page

15

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

Grammar, Intensive English program, Journalism, Media education, Mobile phones, Smartphones, Technical skills, Video production, Vocabulary, Writing skills

Scopus ID

85103877458

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

Included in

Education Commons

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