Introduction
In spite of the fact that information and communication technologies are actively used today for learning different disciplines, including the English language, there are still debates on the appropriateness of using such electronic devices as iPads and Android tablets instead of books. The causes of debates are in the active integration of electronic devices in the teaching-learning process in schools, colleges, and universities. The problem is in the fact that there is no single opinion on whether the use of iPads and tablets can be more advantageous for learning English than the use of print books. While agreeing on the causes of the active usage of electronic devices in the learning process, the researchers cannot provide the single view regarding the consequences of this approach, and they distinguish both positive and negative effects (El-Mouelhy et al. 42; Lin 48; Schmid et al. 271).
As a result, the problem requires its solution with the focus on the choice of the most ethical strategy to contribute to learning English in the modern educational environments. The focus on the e-learning and active use of electronic devices for the increased interactivity in the learning settings provides the grounds for the perspective from which this problem can be discussed. Although books are traditionally used for learning English, the use of tablets can be discussed as a better choice for this purpose, as the active use of electronic devices is caused by the development of educational technologies, and it leads to the increased interactivity and the deepened learning experience.
Causes of Shifting to the Use of iPads and Tablets in Learning English
There is an assumption that the e-learning revolution in the sphere of education is the primary cause for the use of tablets for studying English, and the associated consequences of this process are mainly positive. In the early part of the 1990s, the focus was on the use of personal computers in education. In the 2000s, the use of personal computers was changed with the utilization of laptops (El-Mouelhy et al. 43; Jalovcic, McCloud-Bondoc and Ralston 330). However, the development of technologies was active, and students became encouraged to use mobile phones and smartphones for studying. The factor of availability of tablets also allowed the active use of these electronic devices in learning (El-Mouelhy et al. 42).
While focusing on the process of learning English, it is important to state that the main reason to use tablets in the educational settings was the increased mobility and the overall flexibility in adapting these devices to teaching students how to read in English. Tablets became used for those purposes, for which instructors previously used laptops: online tests, reading Word and PDF files, and searching the information (El-Mouelhy et al. 42; Kukulska-Hulme 159). Therefore, the use of tablets in the English learning became one more step in the integration of innovative technologies in the process.
From this perspective, the other cause of developing the tendency in education is the factor of convenience. Tablets and iPads that allow reading e-books are more convenient than traditional print books because of the possibility to store a variety of resources and study materials necessary for learning English with the help of only one device. Researchers note that the main focus today is on making the learning process most time-efficient and productive (Karadag and Kayabasi 106).
The use of tablets and mobile devices is another step in widening the contexts in which the effective learning can occur (Kukulska-Hulme 162). Stockwell notes that the main focus is on the time that is necessary for completing the tasks, and this time is minimal when mobile devices such as tablets are used (105). From this perspective, educators are focused today on the integration of information and communication technologies in the teaching-learning process in order to address the modern changes in the world and make the study more convenient and time-efficient.
One more cause of using tablets and iPads is the focus on interactivity in the educational context. According to Karadag and Kayabasi, all the media used in the educational settings are oriented to increase the “visuality” and interactivity (108). Much attention is paid to the active involvement of students in the learning process, and this factor is especially important in learning English. Decades ago, educators used boards, hand-written materials, illustrations, physical objects and other tools in order to make the process of learning English more interactive and not focused only on memorizing words (Jalovcic, McCloud-Bondoc and Ralston 331). Today, the situation is different because teachers focused on increasing interactivity in learning can use tablets and other electronic devices in order to make learning experience of students more diverse.
Consequences of Choosing iPads and Tablets for Learning English
The debates on the use of tablets in learning English do not stop because the researchers are inclined to distinguish both positive and negative consequences of changing the traditional print materials with tablets. While concentrating on the benefits of integrating the electronic devices in the learning process, it is necessary to point at the increased number of opportunities for students to work with the interactive text because of a range of available multimedia functions (Cimermanova 45; Lin 50). It is important to note that the use of multimedia functions leads to the students’ “multisensory learning experience” (El-Mouelhy et al. 43).
As a result, learners receive an opportunity to highlight texts while reading, work with illustrations, and read interactive stories (Lin 50). They also receive an opportunity to enhance the process of reading and learning the vocabulary with the help of voice reading (Cimermanova 45; Lin 52). For instance, students can listen to voice reading to learn the pronunciation. Multiple functions are available for students working with tablets and iPads to make their progress in learning the English language more noticeable as they not only read texts and learn words but also interact with the provided resources.
One more positive consequence of adjusting tablets to the English learning process is the higher level of the students’ involvement in the activity. The researchers state that using tablets instead of books, students can spend more time on learning new words, grammar, and reading books because they are not limited by the educational setting, and they do not need to take many books to read them any time they want (Kukulska-Hulme 159; Schmid et al. 275). The research in the field demonstrates that it is more usual for young learners to utilize the electronic devices in order to develop their English skills because they can easily read the required texts, review the vocabulary, translate texts with the help of interactive devices, insert required words, complete tests, and share their progress on learning with other students (Cimermanova 46).
Students can be involved in studying at home, walking, and even sitting in a café. In the study of 2014, Lin focused on investigating “the effects of using a mobile device, the tablet PC iPad Mini,” for “adolescent English learners” in the context of extensive reading programs (42). Lin found that the mobile-assisted reading is even more effective than the reading of English resources with the help of personal computers. The tablets allow the most effective use of online English learning platforms for developing the students’ skills as learners become more involved in the process of reading and learning English texts that are available anytime for their easy access (see fig. 1).
Another advantageous consequence of using tablets for the English learning that is determined by researchers is the orientation to the future development of the learning process. Thus, the researchers note that the active use of tablets in the educational process is not the final stage in the learning (Kukulska-Hulme 160; Stockwell 98). The reason is that the young generation more actively works with electronic devices and different types of media than with traditional books. Activities involving the use of tablets are typical of students, and they easily adopt any new devices in the sphere of information and communication technologies, and moreover, teachers also easily use electronic devices while preparing the instructions (Cimermanova 46). As a result, it is possible to observe the tendency of using tablets and other mobile devices for many educational and other purposes, and this trend can develop more in the future.
On the other hand, the opponents of using tablets instead of books note that the introduction of tablets in the process of learning English cannot directly lead to positive consequences, and the use of traditional books is often more advantageous in this case, or there are no obvious differences in using these devices (El-Mouelhy et al. 43; Kukulska-Hulme 157). Thus, having conducted the research on using tools to improve the English comprehension, El-Mouelhy et al. indicated that there are no reasonable effects of using tablets for enhancing the reading skills (42). According to the researchers, the young students “comprehended better when reading on paper”, and sixth-graders “scored similarly on both media” (El-Mouelhy et al. 42).
In addition, the other researchers also noted that there are many situations when the use of tablets does not provide the effects other than results comparable to using traditional print books for learning (Jalovcic, McCloud-Bondoc and Ralston 334). The other negative consequence is the strong students’ association of electronic devices with the sources of entertainment (Cimermanova 46). However, it is important to state that the absence of differences in scores while using traditional print sources and tablets for learning English does not mean the presence of negative consequences. In addition, the element of entertainment in the learning process contributes to increasing the students’ motivation to learn the language (Schmid et al. 274). Therefore, it is reasonable to discuss the use of electronic devices in the learning process as a promising practice.
The inability to improve writing is often discussed as one of the negative consequences of using tablets actively in the English learning process. According to Karadag and Kayabasi, tablets cannot be used for developing the students’ skills in writing and handwriting (107). Moreover, Karadag and Kayabasi note that the “tablet usage in education will affect the act of writing in elementary education to various extends” (107). Nevertheless, it is important to note that the use of mobile keyboards for working with tablets can address this problem directly. Furthermore, instructors usually develop the writing skills intentionally, and these activities are not directly associated with the use of books in the class. From this point, the majority of negative consequences associated with the integration of tablets in the English learning process are caused by weaknesses in determining clearly in which activities tablets can be used as alternatives to books.
Ways to Address the Tendency of Using iPads and Tablets instead of Books
The research on the topic indicates that the problem is not in the question of whether or not to use tablets in learning English as an alternative to books. On the contrary, it is important to note that the problem is in determining the clear purpose for which instructors use electronic devices in their practice. As a result, it is possible to distinguish several ways of addressing the popular tendency of using tablets in the educational environments with the focus on selecting options that are most effective to contribute to the English language learning. Karadag and Kayabasi state that it is necessary to develop in students the awareness of the idea that tablets and iPads are effective devices to improve learning and achieve the higher results in the study, but they cannot be used as tools for entertainment in the educational setting (109).
Moreover, Jalovcic, McCloud-Bondoc, and Ralston propose to use tablets only as additional tools in the learning process instead of replacing books and other print materials with electronic devices (334). The reason is that the purpose of learning is to develop the skills in reading English texts, writing in English, and listening to the English speech, and any tools are helpful for this purpose (Jalovcic, McCloud-Bondoc, and Ralston 335). One more approach to solving the problem is the use of electronic gadgets only for preparing the home tasks or for working while using the interactive online platforms (Lin 53). All these options are proposed by researchers in the field of e-learning and English learning in order to demonstrate what approaches can be selected in order to adapt the use of electronic devices to the traditional learning process.
Solution to the Problem
The problem of using tablets and iPads instead of books while learning the English language should be resolved with the focus on the effective and ethical strategy that combines the advantages of approaches to addressing the increased tendency in the sphere of education. Firstly, educators should accentuate the fact that tablets and iPads in the classroom are the tools for the interactive education, but not for entertainment (Karadag and Kayabasi 109). The emphasis on this aspect is important to create the effective atmosphere for learning English (Cimermanova 45).
Secondly, educators need to determine strictly, for which purpose they encourage students to use tablets during the learning process. At this stage, instructors need to choose for what types of tasks in the area of reading, writing, and listening, the use of tablets can be discussed as more beneficial than the use of traditional books (Kukulska-Hulme 159). It is important to note that the process of learning English can be discussed as effective only when a variety of tools is proposed to a student. As a result, educators should focus on the use of tablets in addition to books, but not instead of them. The advantages of tablets are obvious when researchers speak about the interactivity, flexibility, and mobility in learning the language (Karadag and Kayabasi 107).
Tablets and iPads should be used in developing the skills in reading, translating, listening, grammar, and vocabulary enhancement (Schmid et al. 279). However, tablets and other electronic devices provide the limited opportunities for developing the students’ skills in writing and especially handwriting, and this aspect should also be taken into account while selecting the techniques of integrating the technologies in the educational process.
Still, educators should pay attention to the fact that the modern generation of students uses tablets easily, and the developed skills in this area need to be addressed by instructors. E-books and electronic materials available with the help of tablets provide students with more opportunities to learn, transform, translate, and change the digital text (Cimermanova 48; Karadag and Kayabasi 106). In addition, the information and communication technologies tend to develop, and learning strategies need to adapt to these changes.
From this point, the ethical solution to addressing the problem of using tablets for learning English is based on the idea that all advantages of tablets and iPads should be effectively used for teaching students, but the goals of these methods should be clearly determined. In addition, the use of electronic devices should be connected with the use of traditional books in the learning process. When there are properly developed strategies for the use of information technologies in the learning process, students receive more chances to demonstrate high results in learning the English language.
Conclusion
The research indicates that there is no direct answer to the question of whether using tablets instead of books is better for developing the language skills. However, it is possible to state that the use of electronic devices is often viewed as the more advantageous technique to study languages than the use of books because of expanded opportunities for working with a text. While referring to the trends in the sphere of education and the spread of information and communication technologies, it is important to note that the use of tablets and iPads in the process of learning English is reasonable. Still, in order to achieve the high results and focus on more advantages of the process, it is necessary to follow the effective strategy developed for integrating the tablets in the study process.
When instructors pay more attention to formulating clear goals for students and selecting the tools according to the activities’ objectives, it is possible to expect positive results. In this context, the effective use of tablets instead of books in the English learning process is possible when electronic devices are integrated only in the concrete context and for specific tasks. Tablets and iPads have many advantages for helping students learn the English language because of the possibility to work with an interactive text in any convenient environment. Nevertheless, while selecting tablets as the better choice for learning the language, it is important to address both positive and negative consequences of the integration of this technology in the teaching-learning process.
Works Cited
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