Prediction of undergraduate students' invention to use mobile learning to learn Arabic as a foreign language

Abstract

Mobile learning has considerable impacts on teaching and learning in higher learning institutions as claimed by previous research. People in the education sector worldwide are concerned about how this interactive learning could foster better engagement learning. As such, the emergence of mobile technology has developed various mobile applications for language learning, but how do learners perceive these inventions for language learning? This research attempts to predict the degree of intention to use mobile learning for Arabic language learning among non-native speakers who are undergraduate students studying at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM); based on their experiences, perception of usefulness and attitude. These precursors were deployed from modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory using a five-point Likert scale of questionnaire. Students were required to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement in the space provided by assigning a score ranging from Strongly Disagree, to Strongly Agree for all 5 sections of the questionnaire: demographic, experience, perception of usefulness, attitude and degree of intention to use mobile learning for Arabic learning purposes. The findings conclude that attitude is the best predictor of students’ intention to use mobile learning to learn Arabic language as a foreign language, while previous experience has no significant contribution in predicting intention to use.