Attitudes towards Smart Phones and Tablets

This paper examines the perceptions of advantages of smart phones and tablets on basic and general English students language learning, selfsufficiency, and interest using smart phones and tablets at an Iranian university college during one university term. Through a survey administered to 333 basic and general English students and through selective observations and interviews, the following questions were examined: 1) Students perceived impact of smart phones and tablets on increasing their confidence throughout the course,2)  Students’ perceived comfort / enjoyment with smart phones and tablets for the students at the beginning and end of the semester,3) Students perceived impact of devices through a comparison between pre and post survey measures on improvement of reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary and spelling, motivation, and preparing them for class tests and quizzes. Tablets were evaluated more positively than smart phones by the students as a means to increase confidence. Both tablets and smart phones were evaluated positively, both as a means of improving students’ motivation to learn, and as a means to develop reading comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary. However, students’ expectations regarding the impact of such devices on their reading speed, preparation for tests and quizzes, as well as comfort and enjoyment were not met.