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M-Learning: An experiment in
using SMS to support learning new
English language words
Article in British Journal of Educational Technology December 2008
Impact Factor: 1.54 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00801.x

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British Journal of Educational Technology

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00801.x

Vol 40 No 1 2009

7891

m-Learning: An experiment in using SMS to support

learning new English language words

Nadire Cavus and Dogan Ibrahim

Nadire Cavus is a lecturer in the Department of Computer Information Systems at Near East University.
Her main research interests are distant learning, collaborative learning, mobile learning, and learning
management systems. Dogan Ibrahim is a lecturer in the Department of Computer Engineering at Near
East University. His main research interests are distant learning, mobile learning, and technology based
learning. Address for correspondence: Nadire Cavus, Department of Computer Information Systems,
Near East University. Email: [email protected]. Dogan Ibrahim, Department of Computer Engineering, Near East University. Email: [email protected]

Abstract
There is an increase use of wireless technologies in education all over the
world. In fact, wireless technologies such as laptop computers, palmtop computers and mobile phones are revolutionising education and transforming the
traditional classroom-based learning and teaching into anytime and anywhere
education. This paper investigates the use of wireless technologies in education
with particular reference to the potential of learning new technical English
language words using Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging. The
system, developed by the authors, called mobile learning tool (MOLT), has been
tested with 45 1st-year undergraduate students. The knowledge of students
before and after the experiment has been measured. Our results show that
students enjoyed and learned new words with the help of their mobile phones.
We believe that using the MOLT system as an educational tool will contribute
to the success of students.

Introduction
There has been significant interest and growth in the number of institutions using
mobile devices to support learning and teaching. Mobile learning, or m-learning for
short, is a new concept, and is very closely related to e-learning. Stone (2004) defines
m-learning as a special type of e-learning, bound by a number of special properties and
the capability of devices, bandwidth and other characteristics of the network technologies being used. Milrad (2003) defines e-learning as learning supported by digital
electronic tools and media, and m-learning as e-learning using mobile devices and
wireless transmission.
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m-Learning is often defined as learning that takes place with the help of portable
electronic tools (Quinn, 2000). A portable device that supports learning may be freely
moved, but learner is mostly stationary, even though they are using a mobile device.
Although the device is mobile and portable, the learning as an event cannot be
described as mobile (Ahonen, Pehkonen, Syvanen & Turunen, 2004). Moreover, when
people access information via different tools, there is still much usability, compatibility
and accessibility related questions that hinder seamless mobility and m-learning.
A survey carried out at the Near East University showed that only a very small percentage
of students owned personal digital assistants (PDAs), thus making them unsuitable for
m-learning experiments. Mobile phones on the other hand are relatively cheaper and a
survey indicated that they are owned and used by every student at the University. The
widespread use of mobile phones amongst our students has led us to consider how this
technology might help us to improve the motivation of students and help in teaching.
The authors looked at language-teaching capabilities of mobile devices to consider how
wireless technologies are being adapted to meet changing educational needs. An important question is how to create a mobile system for teaching new words, which has
added-value features for its user. The aim of this experimental study has been to find out
the potential of using mobile phones in teaching new technical English language words
to 1st-year undergraduate students. During the experiment, new words and their
meanings are sent to students throughout the day in half hourly intervals, and their
learning abilities were assessed by performing tests before and after the experiment.
Review of related literature
Mobile computing is still at its infancy and can be considered to be in its first generation.
It is claimed by Pownell and Bailey (2001) that handheld computers are at the forefront
of the fourth wave in evolution of educational technology. The first wave was dominated by large, expensive mainframes, which were used in education to make administration and managerial tasks easier. The second wave started in 1970s with the advent
of desktop computers, which were also called personal computers (PCs), and schools
introduced computer literacy courses for students to learn about the technology and
how to use it. The third wave started in 1990s by the development of the Internet
and the World Wide Web. The fourth and the current phase started around 2001 and
involve the use of palmtop computers and mobile phones. Although many educationalists in the field see great potential for the use of mobile devices in m-learning, there are
currently very few successful implementations to consider as the best practice.
m-Learning is implemented on palmtop computers or mobile phones. The distinction
between the two types of devices is becoming less and less obvious. Most palmtop
computers now include mobile phone functionalities. Similarly, mobile phones now
have palm-like functionalities such as calendar, database, scheduler, alarm clock, etc.
These are often referred to as smart phones. Smith (2003) suggests that in the next 3
years, mobile phone use by younger students will migrate to smart phones; whereas
PDAs or phone enabled PDAs will not be popular except where they support specialists
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courses. Also, a number of hybrid devices are now available which combine the phone
and palm functionality.
There are many reported successful usage of palmtop computers in schools. Shields and
Potfak (2002) report that exchanging messages by beaming between palmtops has a
direct effect on learning, especially for collaborative working and group working, and
increases the amount of writing produced.
Danesh, Inkpen, Lau, Shu and Booth (2001) describe an application called Geney
which runs on palmtops and help children explore genetic concepts using a collaborative problem-solving approach. The Docklands Learning Acceleration Project
(McTaggart, 1997) aimed to increase the amount of childrens reading and writing
skills. The project was run by the National Literacy Association, and distributed 35
Acorn Pocket Book computers to 15 schools in the inner London Borough of Newham
and Southwark. McTaggart reported that an improvement in the childrens literacy
skills was observed because they could use the spellcheck and the thesaurus while he
could be free to work on the content of their work.
The literature review generally presents a positive picture of palmtops in education.
However, some problems are also reported. Jackson (2002) and Perry (2003) warn
about the physical fragility of palmtops in the rough environment of schools and the
likelihood of theft, but reports from actual trials suggest that these are not significant
problems in practice. The importance of keeping batteries recharged is also important,
otherwise work could be lost (Perry, 2003). Mifsud (2003) suggests that the new types
of mobile phones and PDAs offering extra functions, such as voice and image recording,
can also act as a disruptive technology.
There have been applications in the literature for the use of SMS text messaging in
education. Ananova (2001) report a study where SMS messaging is used for revision
support in secondary schools in Merseyside, UK. Soloway et al (1996) describes a trial
using SMS text messaging at the Kingston University (UK) to support 1st-year degree
students in terms of time management and ensuring that essential core learning is not
missed at an early stage. SMS is also used to complete exercises which facilitate learning
and to complete assessed work (Stone, Briggs & Smith, 2002).
Theoretical framework
There are many learning theories in the literature, but we will briefly review some of the
popular ones that are most relevant to m-learninginformal learning and constructive
learning.
m-Learning could be thought to be a form of informal learning. Informal learning can
happen anywhere and anytime. In fact, this type of learning happens all the time.
Learning is through interaction with others. Much of the learning that takes place in
organisations is informal, outside of structured learning programs: asking colleagues
for help; searching the network and Internet; and through trial and error. Because this
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type of learning can happen anytime and anywhere, much of m-learning takes place as
informal learning.
Constructive learning is based on the idea that people learn by constructing new ideas
based on their current and past knowledge. In other words, learning involves constructing ones own knowledge from ones own experiences. Here, the learners motivate themselves during the learning process. According to Von Glasersfeld (1989),
sustaining motivation to learn is strongly dependent on the learners confidence in his
or her potential for learning.
The aim
The aim of this experimental study has been to find out the potential of using mobile
phones in teaching new technical English language words to 1st-year undergraduate
students to support their normal English language lectures.
In order to reach this aim the authors have sought answers to the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What are the opinions of students about the mobile phone-based learning system?
Are there significant differences between the pretest and posttest results?
What are the students suggestions for the development of the system?
How often should the words be sent?
During which hours of the day should the words be sent?

Method
Setting
This experimental study has been carried out at the Near East University, Department of
Computer Information Systems, during the Spring (2007) semester. In order to send the
SMS text messages, a Windows-based program has been developed by the authors on a
PC, called the Mobile Learning Tool (MOLT).
Subjects
The experimental study was carried out with 45 1st-year volunteer students, randomly
selected and willing to participate in the experiment. Before the beginning of the experiment it was checked that all the participants had mobile phones and carried by them at
all times. The model and the features of mobile phones used were not important in this
experiment because any mobile phone can receive and display SMS messages.
Software
The software is based on the visual basic programming language. The ActiveX control
package Logiccode GSM SMS Active X DLL (2007) was used in the program to format
the SMS text messages and send them to a mobile phone attached to the PC via the
Bluetooth interface. Any model of standard mobile phone could be used as long as it
had Bluetooth interface. The mobile phone received messages and phone numbers from
the PC and then sent these messages to the recipient students at the times requested by
the PC. Figure 1 shows the block diagram of the system developed by the authors.
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Mobile phone
network

SMS

Phone
numbers

Messages

Bluetooth

Students mobile phones

Desktop PC

Mobile phone

University
Figure 1: Block diagram of the system

The computer program consists of a single Graphical User Interface-based display and
Figure 2 shows a snapshot of the screen when the program is run. The program operates by entering the starting and ending dates and times of the experiment, and once
starts, it runs throughout the experimental period, terminating automatically at the
requested date and time. Before the program is run, two text files are created: File
MESSAGES.DAT stores the messages (ie, the selected technical English words and their
meanings) to be sent to all the students. Similarly, file PHONES.DAT stores mobile
numbers of all the students participating in the experiment.
Application
The operation of the computer program is as follows:
The program operates within the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. which is the normal
office hours. Dunn and Dunn (1993) have found that the optimal time to learn is
during the daytime (30% during the morning, 30% during the afternoon, 30% in the
evening) and this is one of the reasons why the experiment has been carried out
during the daytime.
Every half an hour the program reads a new message from the messages file and sends
this message as an SMS to all of the students participating in the experiment.
Students receiving the messages are expected to read and learn the new words wherever they happen to be.
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Figure 2: Snapshot of the screen

16 messages were sent daily during the 8-hour operating time. In total there were
48 messages. These 48 messages were arranged randomly in three groupsA, B
and Ceach group having 16 messages, and each group receiving the same 16
messages three times during the experiment. Thus, the experiment was completed
in 9 days.
The messages were sent in the following sequence:
Group A: days 1,2 and 7;
Group B: days 3,4 and 8;
Group C: days 5,6 and 9.
The importance of repetition in learning cannot be underestimated. Learning to speak
a language, learning to swim, playing a game, learning to type, or driving a carall are
learned with repetition. Spaced repetition has been known to improve learning
(Wozniak, 1990). This is why the messages were repeated and same messages were sent
on three separate days.
Figure 3 shows some of the messages (words) sent to students together with their
meanings. The description of the meanings of words were chosen as short as possible,
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Figure 3: Some of the words sent

so that the recipients can read these messages on their small screens without having to
scroll down many times.
Data collection and analysis
In order to find out the learning abilities of students, a pretest and a posttest have been
carried out. In both tests, the meanings of the words used in the experiment were asked,
and it was expected that after the experiment, students would learn the words and thus
score higher marks. The test conditions (eg, the duration of the test and the environment) were identical in both tests.
Survey questionnaire
Students were asked to carry out a written survey at the end of the experiment in order
to receive their feedback on the use of the MOLT system. The survey was administered
at the University by asking the students to fill the survey questionnaire during a lecture
session, where the students were given 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The
Scale of Student Opinion on MOLT System was prepared by authors in the form of a
questionnaire related to students opinion. Content and validity of questions were
investigated by 12 experts (experts of educational technology, assessment and measurement experts) in this field and were found to be satisfactory. The internal consistency of
the questionnaire was found to be 0.94 using Cronbach alpha. Twenty-four carefully
prepared questions were given to students to answer in the class. The questionnaire
consisted of two sections, and each question (see Figure 4) was phrased to determine
whether or not there was a positive response to the MOLT system. First section of this
2007 The Authors. Journal compilation 2007 Becta.

1.

I found the MOLT system enjoyable.

2.

I think all my friends who used the MOLT system are happy about it.

3.

I can easily remember the words that I received on my mobile phone.

4.

The words I learned with the MOLT system have increased my vocabulary.

5.

I would like a similar system to be used in all of my other lessons.

6.

With the help of MOLT system I learned new words easily.

7.

MOLT system helped me correct the meanings of words I knew wrongly.

8.

Using the current technology with the MOLT system has motivated me.

9.

Using a new novel teaching tool has motivated me.

85

Strong Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Section A

Agree

Strongly Agree

SMS in m-Learning

10. Because I am very occupied during class hours it is more difficult to learn new
words. But I can learn and remember new words easier during my leisure time.
11. It would be nice if the MOLT system supported searching where I could search
for a new word.
12. It would have been more effective if I could use two-way communication with
the MOLT system.
13. I preferred the messages to come as multimedia messages.
14. I would like to see the MOLT system to be used in next semesters as well.
15. I found learning new words with the MOLT system very effective.

16- In your opinion what should be the word sending frequency in MOLT system ?
 every 15 mins
 Every 30 mins
 Every hour
 Every 8 hour
17- Between what times do you think the words should be sent in the MOLT system ?
 09:00-17:00
 08:00-22:00
 09:00-24:00
 08:00-22:00 17:00-22:00

 10:00-24:00

 After 17:00

18- Which effects would you like to see in received words ?

 Sound
 Picture
 Animation
19 - Would you like to receive words at the weekends ?
 Yes
 No
20- I wish the MOLT system had search facility.
 Yes
 No
21- How would you like the valuation to be done ?
 With MOLT system
 With paper (classical) methods
22- Would you like the MOLT system to be supported by chat and forums ?
 No

 Yes

23- Would you like to receive the summaries of lecture notes on your mobile phone ?
 No
24- Would you like to receive University messages such as adverts, exam dates, results etc to your mobile phone ?

 Yes

 Yes

 No

Figure 4: Survey questions

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questionnaire is formed in 5-point Likert scale type questions, consisting of 15 items,

with 5 being a response of strongly agree and 1 representing strongly disagree. Each
question was phrased so that strongly agree represented a positive reaction to the project
in section A.
The second section of the questionnaire consisted of nine carefully prepared questions
to find out what improvements or modifications the students wished to see in the MOLT
system.
Results
Two major goals of this experimental study have been:
Observe the usage of the MOLT system with undergraduate students and obtain
feedback on their opinions of this m-learning tool; and
Determine the student success and thus the value of this m-learning tool.
The success rate of students in learning new words
The results given in this section are based on the student grades obtained in pretest and
posttest. In order to find out whether or not there was any statistically significant
difference between students success rate in pretest and posttest, a paired sampled t-test
was carried out and the results are shown in Table 1. Results clearly indicate that before
using the MOLT system (M = 24.68, SD = 12.44), students had lower success rates
than after using the MOLT system (M = 89.77, SD = 7.18). A paired sampled t-test
based on pretest and posttest results has indicated a significant difference between the
two tests (t = 32.29, p < 0.05) in favour of the posttest.
Opinions of students about the MOLT system
The mean opinion scores and standard deviations of students survey responses are
given in Table 2. At a glance, the results suggest that students had highly positive
opinions of the MOLT system (14th question, M = 4.40).
The first question I found the MOLT system enjoyable, the third question I can easily
remember the words that I received on my mobile phone, and the eighth question
Using the current technology with the MOLT system has motivated me have the same
high scores (M = 4.38). One of the reasons for this is that students enjoyed using the
MOLT system as a tool as it brought greater flexibility into their learning, as now they
could learn anywhere anytime. We can say that the interest of students to the use of
mobile phones have also helped them learn new words.
Table 1: The success rate of students

Posttest
Pretest

Mean

SD

45
45

89.77
24.68

7.17
12.44

32.29

0.000

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Table 2: Scale of student opinions in the MOLT system

Survey itemsa (N = 45)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

I found the MOLT system enjoyable.

I think all my friends who used the MOLT system are happy about it.
I can easily remember the words that I received on my mobile phone.
The words I learned with the MOLT system have increased my
vocabulary.
I would like a similar system to be used in all of my other lessons.
With the help of MOLT system I learned new words.
MOLT system helped me correct the meanings of words I knew
wrongly.
Using the current technology with the MOLT system has motivated me.
Using a new novel teaching tool has motivated me.
Because I am very occupied during class hours it is more difficult to
learn new words. But I can learn and remember new words easier
during my leisure time.
It would be nice if the MOLT system supported searching where I
could search for a new word.
It would have been more effective if we could use two-way
communication with the MOLT system.
I preferred the messages to come as multimedia messages.
I would like to see the MOLT system to be used in next semesters as
well.
I found learning new words with the MOLT system very effective.

Mean

SD

4.38
4.33
4.38
4.31

0.91
0.77
0.78
0.95

4.20
4.31
4.20

0.92
0.82
0.81

4.37
4.31
4.33

0.92
0.95
0.88

4.42

0.75

3.84

0.99

3.28
4.40

0.97
0.78

4.20

0.73

a
Scoring: 5 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree.
MOLT, mobile learning tool.

It is very interesting to notice that the least meaningful response to the MOLT system is
I preferred the messages to come as multimedia messages (M = 3.29). This shows that
students were happy to receive text messages instead of multimedia-based messages.
We believe that a different response could have been obtained for the teaching of other
subjects that include visual aspects, such as geography, biology, etc.
Another important result of the survey is the response to the fifth question
(I would like a similar system to be used in all of my other lessons; M = 4.20).
According to this result, we can say that students enjoyed learning with the MOLT
system. We can also conclude from question It would have been more effective if we
could have two-way communication with the MOLT system, (M = 3.84) that
students would like to participate in the mobile phone learning process by being more
interactive.
Student opinions for the improvement of the system
We have asked several questions in the survey to find out the suggestions of students for
the improvement of the system. In response to question In your opinion what should be
the word sending frequency in MOLT system?, the majority of students (55.6%) preferred to receive the messages every 30 minutes, which was, by coincidence, the time
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used in the experiment. Also, in response to question Between what times do you think
the words should be sent in the MOLT system?, the majority (42.2%) preferred the
interval 9:00 a.m.5:00 p.m., which again was the time interval used in the experiment. We also wanted to find out whether or not the system should be used during
weekends. In response to the question Would you like to receive words at the weekends?, the majority (73.3%) responded positively. This result shows that students
enjoyed learning with their mobile phones even at weekends.
In response to the question Would you like the MOLT system to be supported by
chat and forums?, the majority (84.4%) answered positively. Similarly, 88.9% said
yes to the question Would you like to receive the summaries of lecture notes on your
mobile phone?, which again supports students preferences to use their mobile
phones for learning. Majority of students (75.4%) also preferred to receive
nonlecture-based material such as adverts, exam results, etc through their mobile
phones.
We also wanted to find out whether or not students preferred any special effects to be
added to the received words. In response to the question Which effects would you like
to see in received words?, the majority (44.4%) said they preferred images, 28.9%
preferred to receive animation and only 26.7% said they preferred to receive sound
effects.

Conclusions and recommendations

The survey results were very positive and in favour of the mobile phone-based teaching
system. All of the participants expressed their satisfaction and enjoyment of learning
away from the classroom with the help of their mobile phones. Virvou and Alepis
(2005) who have studied the use of mobile phones in teaching also report that both
instructors and students who evaluated their system found it to be very useful. Students
suggested that other lectures should also use mobile phone-based teaching to support
the main teaching activities in the classroom. In addition, students preferred to receive
university notices, exam dates, exam results, etc in their mobile phones.
The frequency of sending the messages was thought to be satisfactory by the students.
Stone et al (2002) found results very similar to ours as they report that students liked
using SMS, and the response rates were high and the quality of the messages were very
good. Furthermore, a large majority believed that receiving messages every half an
hour was just right. The working period was also acceptable as most students preferred
not to receive messages after 5:00 p.m.
All of the participants expressed an interest in multimedia-based messages and this is
an important result of the survey. These results agree with the suggestions and results
obtained by Kadyte (2004) for the teaching of a foreign language using mobile
phones.
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The experimental study carried out another important result, which indicated that
students learned new words after the experiment. The average scores before and after
the experiment were 24.68 and 89.77 respectively, which is a clear indication of the
success of the experiment. The beauty of this system is that the learning process takes
place away from the classroom environment while the students are involved with their
everyday activities.
Most teaching members of the Department were interested with this study and they
kept an eye on it throughout its duration. When the results were announced, they
showed interest by asking questions to find out more about the study, and also discussed
the possibility of using similar tools in their own lecture sessions.
The cost of sending SMS messages to a large group of students every half an hour could
sometimes be high, and students could not be expected to bear the costs. During this
study, the local mobile phone company provided financial help by not charging for the
cost of the messages. It is the authors opinion that most mobile phone service provider
companies usually offer reduced cost services for educational use, and such a scheme
will greatly reduce the implementation costs of this project.
The overall goal of this study has been to value-add to the anytime and anyplace
flexibility of m-learning. Although the teaching of new words using the mobile phones
has been successful, the project can be improved in several ways:
In the experiment, only text-based SMS messages are used. There are many
words whose meanings are difficult to describe with words. For example, when
describing what a computer keyboard is, it is more elegant and easier to understand if a keyboard picture is displayed rather than sending a text several lines
long. Most mobile phones support messages in the form of pictures and simple
animations. In addition, it is easier to remember a picture than to remember its
description. Sounds can also be used, especially to teach the pronunciation of new
words.
MOLT system has been developed for the teaching of new technical words. The
system can be enhanced and used for the teaching of other subjects as well. For
example, brief summaries of lecture notes can be sent to students before the start of
a lecture.
MOLT system is currently unidirectional, ie, from the university to the student. The
system can be made bidirectional so that student responses, feedback or answers to
particular questions can be received and processed by the lecturers.
The use of Java enabled mobile phones is increasing as most phone manufacturers
now offer such phones at low cost and with rich features. It is recommended by the
authors that future mobile phone-based teaching activities should be based on the
use of Java enabled mobile phones. Students will then be able to carry out more
complex and more enjoyable learning tasks, such as revision, solving multiplechoice questions, watching short interactive movies about lectures, etc instead of
reading simple text, as was the case in this study.
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It is the aim of the authors to develop and further test the MOLT system by including the
recommendation summarised in the previous discussion.

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