BYOPHD: Challenges and Issues
Manal Almarwani, Taibah University (Saudi Arabia)
Abstract
English continues to develop as the global language of knowledge, business, commerce, and the gateway to drive the economy of the countries worldwide. The desire to participate in the knowledge society, in which English is the dominant language, and help to prompt the economy of the country towards globalization has meant that there is a strong emphasis on learning English as a foreign language by all university students in Saudi Arabia. Mobile technologies have created new prospects and opportunities for learning English. Bringing personal handheld devices by students and faculty in higher education institutions is emerging as individual practices and personal attempts to enhance learning and teaching of English within the comfort zone of both students and faculty. Higher education institutions can make a pragmatic transition from these individual practices and personal attempts of integrating mobile technologies into learning and teaching, to institutional implementation as a cost cutting strategy by calling for a Bring Your Own Personal Handheld Device (BYOPHD) institution-wide strategy. High level of acceptance of BYOPHD strategy is reported, therefore, there is a need to have a stated institutional policy to regulate and govern the implementation process. This paper reports on challenges and issues related to BYOPHD from EFL students’ perspective at higher education. Students have reported several challenges and issues that can be addressed in formulating the institutional policy.
Keywords |
BYOPHD (Bring Your Own Personal Handheld Devices), Mobile technologies, English as a foreign language, Policy. |