To answer the first RQ related to the current practices of Generation Z undergraduates using Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) devices in learning English, a Google Forms-based questionnaire was sent to students at HCMC University of Food Industry (HUFI). Of the initial cohort, 128 students completed and returned the survey including 94.5% sophomores, 3.1% juniors, and 2.3% seniors. The rate between male and female students was high: 19.5% and 80.5% respectively;
however, the comparison between male and female participants would be not mentioned in this study.
The first issue is concerned with the most popular mobile devices that
Generation Z students at the HCMC University of Food Industry were owning.
Figure 4.1
The Most Popular Mobile Devices Generation Z Owning
Smartphone was the most common device that Generation Z undergraduates were owning. It accounted for nearly three quarters compared to the rest handheld devices (Figure 4.1). With the speedy development and the enormous benefits of smartphones, it is no doubt that they have been the priority for students to use in their daily activities. Laptops were the second highest devices Generation Z possessing, the rest two portable tools (Tablets and MP3/MP4/iPod) were accounted for very small percentages (Figure 4.1). Apart from smartphones, laptops, tablets, MP3/MP4/iPod, there were no other portable devices students at HUFI having.
When being asked if survey takers had any experiences in MALL learning, 108 out of 128 participants confirmed their experiences. 108 participants would be the sample for analyzing necessary data from now on. The second issue dealing with the English learning applications on mobile devices of Generation Z students.
Figure 4.2
Common English Learning Applications used by Generation Z Students
Translation, Vocabulary, and Dictionary were three applications taking up the highest percentages (Figure 4.2). It would appear that these applications are related closely to lexical domain. For non-English major students, words and meanings of words are the prior concerns when selecting an app to install. For four language skills applications, Listening had the highest percentage, Reading had the second highest one, Speaking and Writing were followed respectively. It means that tertiary students
at HUFI had a clear tendency for employing receptive-skill applications.
For the rest of applications (Grammar, Pronunciation, International English Certificate, other), Pronunciation took up the highest percentage. As mentioned above, productive skills seemed to be neglected towards students; however, Pronunciation could be considered one of productive skills. Pronunciation applications were in favored of being installed implied that the need of productive-skill applications is increasing and need to be met urgently. One more intrigue application this study found out was Duolingo. There was one participant using Duolingo application. Duolingo is an English learning platform can be approached in website and application. It is designed in video games to attract learners and it also provides them proficiency assessment exams. It sounds unfamiliar to Vietnamese users, but up to March 2021, the app has over 300 million users all over the world.
The final issue concerned with the frequency Generation Z students using MALL devices to practice English.
Table 4.1
The Frequency of Using MALL Devices to Practice English
108 participants evaluated their English learning activities on the scale from 1 - Never, 2 - Rarely, 3 - Sometimes, 4 - Usually, 5 - Always. As a whole, total Mean of
N Mean SD
1. Watch TV shows in English to help me understand spoken English 108 2.81 0.738
2. Listen to Podcasts to help me learn English 108 2.38 0.758
3. Interact with English native speakers to help me learn English 108 2.06 0.863
4. Participate in English activites 108 2.1 0.864
5. Go online and surf the web to learn English 108 2.96 0.885
6. Play games online to learn English 108 2.81 1.043
7. Read the news blogs online to improve my English 108 2.67 0.937
Total Average 108 2.54 0.87
seven items (Table 4.1) revealed that the frequency that the participants did their English learning activities ranged from Rarely to Sometimes. Reading The News/Blogs Online to Improve English, Watching TV Shows in English to Understand Spoken English, Playing Games Online to Learn English, and Going Online and Surfing the Web to Learn English were four activities having the highest Means (Table 4.1). With the advance of types of news, it is no doubt that students can access the global news anytime and anywhere. The increasing numbers of TV shows in English is a positive feature enabling Vietnamese students to have greater exposure to English. Some TV shows require viewers to pay, but some are free on the Internet like Youtube. On Youtube, viewers can watch a TV show with or without caption in English. That feature is very useful to facilitate EFL learners, especially when they want to focus on listening but have difficulties in some parts. The last three items having the least Means were Interacting with English Native Speakers to Learn English, Participating in English Activities, and Listening to Podcasts to Help You Learn English. The Means of three items were below the total average of seven items (Table 4.1). It referred that most of the participants rarely practiced three mentioned activities. The Means were not strong enough to indicate that the participants sometimes did these activities. Of seven items, Play Games Online to Learn English was the one having the highest SD (Table 4.1) while other items having the SD around 0.8. It referred that some parts of the participants rarely played games online to learn English, but some other sometimes did it.