Unveiling the Multifaceted Dance of Distractions: Thumbing Through the On-Screen Distractions Throughout Memrise MALL Experience
Abstract
The detrimental impact of screen distractions, including heightened cognitive-emotional engagement and reduced concentration spans, remains to be fully explored. This case study investigates EFL students’ perceptions of screen distractions in mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and explores their potential implications on learning outcomes. The study employs a descriptive methodology and purposively samples 46 first-year university students who are not majoring in English as participants. During a two-week trial, the participants use the Memrise English learning app to complete Beginner’s levels (A1 and A2). Screen recordings, user account credentials, and interview excerpts are collected from shared Google Drive folders and focus-group sessions. Thematic data analysis is conducted to gain insights into the participants’ perception of screen distractions. Results reveal that social networks and entertainment apps (63.43%) are the primary sources of distraction, followed by web browsing (22.29%), incoming notifications and pop-up messages (11.45%), and incoming calls (2.83%). Participants perceive these distractions as driven by a psychological impulse to avoid missing updates. While the participants demonstrate an impressive aptitude for adapting to and navigating Memrise MALL resources, they lack necessary support to manage distractions, resulting in a failure to meet learning objectives. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating set times for learning and optimizing screen learning to be distraction-free. Furthermore, it highlights the negative consequences of multitasking and interruptions on students’ MALL performance, underscoring the need for structured use of social media to enhance engagement and academic achievement. Students’ perception of Memrise MALL is generally positive, with reported benefits such as improved recall, concentration, motivation, and engagement. However, distraction management and material connection are essential contributors in successful MALL experience.
Downloads
References
Aagaard, J. (2015). Drawn to distraction: a qualitative study of off-task use of educational technology. Computers & Education, 87, 90-97. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.03.010
Abidin, A. (2023). Screen distractions during Memrise MALL experience: course-of-action study on students’ performance and perception. JOALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature), 8(2), 245-263. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v8i2.25462
Ansari, J. A. N., & Khan, N. A. (2020). Exploring the role of social media in collaborative learning the new domain of learning. Smart Learning Environments, 7(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-020-00118-7
Anshari, M., Almunawar, M. N., Shahrill, M., Wicaksono, D. K., & Huda, M. (2017). Smartphones usage in the classrooms: learning aid or interference? Education and Information Technologies, 22(6), 3063-3079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-017-9572-7
Aroline, E. S. H., & Brown, C. M. (2020). Enhancing L2 learning through a mobile assisted spaced-repetition tool: an effective but bitter pill? Computer Assisted Language Learning, 33(1-2), 133-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1552975
Attia, N. A., Baig, L. A., Marzouk, Y. I., & Khan, A. (2017). The potential effect of technology and distractions on undergraduate students' concentration. Pak J Med Sci, 33(4), 860-865. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.334.12560
Blasiman, R. N., Larabee, D., & Fabry, D. (2018). Distracted students: a comparison of multiple types of distractions on learning in online lectures. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 4, 222–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000122
Brady, A. C., Kim, Y.-e., & von Spiegel, J. (2022). Learning in the face of digital distractions: empowering students to practice self-regulated learning. In A. E. Flanigan & J. H. Kim (Eds.), Digital Distractions in the College Classroom (pp. 120-142). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-9243-4.ch006
Bueno-Alastuey, M. C., & Nemeth, K. (2020). Quizlet and podcasts: effects on vocabulary acquisition. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1802601
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652-661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
Castellano, S. Q., & Arnedillo-Sánchez, I. (2016). Sensorimotor Distractions When Learning with Mobile Phones On-the-Move. 12th International Conference Mobile Learning,
Chen, C.-M., Chen, L.-C., & Yang, S.-M. (2019). An English vocabulary learning app with self-regulated learning mechanism to improve learning performance and motivation. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 32(3), 237-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1485708
Chu, J., Qaisar, S., Shah, Z., & Jalil, A. (2021). Attention or distraction? The impact of mobile phone on users' psychological well-being [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.612127
Corkin, M. T., Peterson, E. R., Henderson, A. M. E., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2021). Preschool screen media exposure, executive functions and symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 73, 101237. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101237
Creswell, J. W. (2014). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. SAGE publications.
Dagdeler, K. O., & Demiröz, H. (2022). EFL instructors’ perceptions of utilizing mobile-assisted language learning in higher education. Acta Educationis Generalis, 12(2), 22-40. https://doi.org/doi:10.2478/atd-2022-0012
Dingler, T., Weber, D., Pielot, M., Cooper, J., Chang, C.-C., & Henze, N. (2017). Language learning on-the-go: opportune moments and design of mobile microlearning sessions Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, Vienna, Austria. https://doi.org/10.1145/3098279.3098565
Dyah, A., & Lulud, O. (2019). Memrise: promoting students’ autonomous learning skill through language learning application. Metathesis: Journal of English Language, Literature, and Teaching(Vol 3, No 2 (2019): Metathesis: Journal of English Language, Literature, and Teaching), 214-223. https://jurnal.untidar.ac.id/index.php/metathesis/article/view/1982/1108
Fathi, J., Alipour, F., & Saeedian, A. (2018). Enhancing vocabulary learning and self-regulation via a mobile application: an investigation of the Memrise app. Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 5(1), 27 – 46. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30479/jmrels.2019.10311.1282
Giunchiglia, F., Zeni, M., Gobbi, E., Bignotti, E., & Bison, I. (2018). Mobile social media usage and academic performance. ArXiv, abs/2004.01392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.041
Hameed, I., Haq, M. A., Khan, N., & Zainab, B. (2022). Social media usage and academic performance from a cognitive loading perspective. On the Horizon, 30(1), 12-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-04-2021-0054
Hashim, H., Md. Yunus, M., Amin Embi, M., & Mohamed Ozir, N. A. (2017). Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) for ESL learners: a review of affordances and constraints. Sains Humanika, 9(1-5). https://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v9n1-5.1175
Hayashi, Y., & Nenstiel, J. N. (2021). Media multitasking in the classroom: problematic mobile phone use and impulse control as predictors of texting in the classroom. Current Psychology, 40(9), 4500-4506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00395-7
Hoang, D. T. N., McAlinden, M., & Johnson, N. F. (2022). Extending a learning ecology with virtual reality mobile technology: oral proficiency outcomes and students’ perceptions. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 17(3), 491-504. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2022.2070626
Hollis, R. B., & Was, C. A. (2016). Mind wandering, control failures, and social media distractions in online learning. Learning and Instruction, 42, 104-112. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.007
Jeong, K.-O. (2022). Facilitating sustainable self-directed learning experience with the use of mobile-assisted language learning. Sustainability, 14(5), 2894. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2894
Kaminske, A., Brown, A., Aylward, A., & Haller, M. (2022). Cell phone notifications harm attention: an exploration of the factors that contribute to distraction. European Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), 1487-1494. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.11.3.1487
Kay, R., Benzimra, D., & Li, J. (2017). Exploring factors that influence technology-based distractions in bring your own device classrooms. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 55(7), 974-995. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633117690004
Klar, S., & Leeper, T. J. (2019). Identities and intersectionality: a case for purposive sampling in survey-experimental research. In Experimental Methods in Survey Research (pp. 419-433). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119083771.ch21
Krashen, S. D. (1981). Bilingual education and second language acquisition theory. Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework, 51-79.
Kuznekoff, J. H., Munz, S., & Titsworth, S. (2015). Mobile phones in the classroom: examining the effects of texting, Twitter, and message content on student learning. Communication Education, 64(3), 344-365. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2015.1038727
Latifi, M., Ketabi, S., & Mohammadi, E. (2013). The comprehension hypothesis today: An interview with Stephen Krashen. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 10(2).
Lee, S., Baek, J., & Han, G. (2018). Effects of using a second-screen application on attention, learning, and user experience in an educational content. Interactive Learning Environments, 26(3), 289-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2017.1324494
Lewandowska, A., Rejer, I., Bortko, K., & Jankowski, J. (2022). Eye-tracker study of influence of affective disruptive content on user’s visual attention and emotional state. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22020547
Li, X., & Chan, M. (2021). Smartphone uses and emotional and psychological well-being in China: the attenuating role of perceived information overload. Behaviour & Information Technology, 41(11), 2427-2437. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2021.1929489
Lissak, G. (2018). Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: literature review and case study. Environmental Research, 164, 149-157. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.015
López-Gil, K. S., & Ramirez Osorio, L. S. (2020). Concepciones de ingresantes universitarios sobre la multitarea en entornos digitales. Zona Próxima, 3-26. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14482/zp.33.378
Łuczak, A. (2017). Using Memrise in legal English teaching. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 49(1), 141-152. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/slgr-2017-0009
Luo, Y., & Watts, M. (2022). Exploration of university students’ lived experiences of using smartphones for English language learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2022.2052904
McCoy, B. R. (2020). Gen Z and digital distractions in the classroom: student classroom use of digital devices for non-class related purposes. Journal of Media Education, 11, 5-23. https://en.calameo.com/read/0000917898a07ac2096e4
Metruk, R. (2022). Smartphone English language learning challenges: a systematic literature review. SAGE Open, 12(1), 21582440221079627. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221079627
Meyer, L., & Eklund, K. (2020). The Impact of a mindfulness intervention on elementary classroom climate and student and teacher mindfulness: a pilot study. Mindfulness, 11(4), 991-1005. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01317-6
Nassaji, H. (2015). Qualitative and descriptive research: data type versus data analysis. Language Teaching Research, 19(2), 129-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168815572747
Navarro-Martinez, O., & Peña-Acuña, B. (2022). Technology usage and academic performance in the PISA 2018 report [Social Network; ICT; PISA; Competences; Gender]. 2022, 11(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2022.1.735
Ngọc, N. T. B., & Phuong, T. T. K. (2022). The application of quizizz games on vocabulary retention of non-english majors students: a case study at Thai Nguyen University of Education. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 12(5). https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.12.05.2022.p12506
Paradhina, N. R. H. P., & Myrna, L.-H. (2021). The efficacy of Memrise as a supplementary study material in understanding French as a foreign language. Proceedings of the International Seminar on Language, Education, and Culture (ISoLEC 2021), 249-252. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211212.046
Pattermann, J., Pammer, M., Schlögl, S., & Gstrein, L. (2022). Perceptions of digital device use and accompanying digital interruptions in blended learning. Education Sciences, 12(3), 215. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/3/215
Pea, R., & Sharples, M. (2022). Mobile learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (3 ed., pp. 362-382). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888295.022
Pedro, L. F. M. G., Barbosa, C. M. M. d. O., & Santos, C. M. d. N. (2018). A critical review of mobile learning integration in formal educational contexts. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0091-4
Pritandhari, M., & Rosa, F. O. (2022). Analysis of mobile learning utilization of student learning interests. International Journal of Research and Review, 9(5), 63-69. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20220511
Quan, Z., Grant, L., & Hocking, D. (2022). Comparing concordances of language patterns and words by ESL intermediate learners: a preliminary experiment with two mobile concordancers. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2022.2081581
Rosen, L. D., Mark, C., L., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.001
Rozgonjuk, D., Elhai, J. D., Ryan, T., & Scott, G. G. (2019). Fear of missing out is associated with disrupted activities from receiving smartphone notifications and surface learning in college students. Computers & Education, 140, 103590. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.05.016
Salmerón, L., Vargas, C., Delgado, P., & Baron, N. (2023). Relation between digital tool practices in the language arts classroom and reading comprehension scores. Reading and Writing, 36(1), 175-194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10295-1
Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62, 24-31. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.003
Shakoor, F., Fakhar, A., & Abbas, J. (2021). Impact of smartphones usage on the learning behaviour and academic performance of students: empirical evidence from Pakistan. The International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(2), 862-881. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i2/8902
Shane-Simpson, C., & Bakken, T. (2022). Students’ Fear of Missing Out Predicts In-Class Social Media Use. Teaching of Psychology, 0(0), 00986283211060752. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283211060752
Shortt, M., Tilak, S., Kuznetcova, I., Martens, B., & Akinkuolie, B. (2021). Gamification in mobile-assisted language learning: a systematic review of Duolingo literature from public release of 2012 to early 2020. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1933540
Skulmowski, A., & Xu, K. M. (2022). Understanding cognitive load in digital and online learning: a new perspective on extraneous cognitive load. Educational psychology review, 34(1), 171-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09624-7
Synnott, C. K. (2015). Smartphones in the classroom as impediments to student learning. Journal on excellence in college teaching, 26(1), 161-168. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2890602
Taebenu, S. F., & Katemba, C. V. (2021). Vocabulary enhancement through Memrise and Google classroom. Journal of Linguistics Literature and Language Teaching, 5(1), 228-241. https://doi.org/ 10.30743/ll.v5i1.3813
Throuvala, M. A., Pontes, H. M., Tsaousis, I., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2021). Exploring the dimensions of smartphone distraction: development, validation, measurement invariance, and latent mean differences of the smartphone distraction scale (SDS) [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.642634
Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive Medicine Reports, 12, 271-283. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003
Van, T. N., & Thanh, H. N. T. (2022). The impacts of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) on freshmen’s vocabulary acquisition and their perspectives. 18th International Conference of the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (AsiaCALL–2-2021), 278-290. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211224.027
Winter, J., Cotton, D., Gavin, J., & Yorke, J. D. (2010). Effective e-learning? Multi-tasking, distractions and boundary management by graduate students in an online environment. ALT-J, 18(1), 71-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687761003657598
Xodabande, I., & Hashemi, M. R. (2022). Learning English with electronic textbooks on mobile devices: impacts on university students’ vocabulary development. Education and Information Technologies, 28(2), 1587-1611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11230-1
Xue, S. (2022). A conceptual model for integrating affordances of mobile technologies into task-based language teaching. Interactive Learning Environments, 30(6), 1131-1144. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1711132
Yu, J., Zhou, X., Yang, X., & Hu, J. (2022). Mobile-assisted or paper-based? The influence of the reading medium on the reading comprehension of English as a foreign language. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(1-2), 217-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.2012200
Zhang, D., & Pérez-Paredes, P. (2021). Chinese postgraduate EFL learners’ self-directed use of mobile English learning resources. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 34(8), 1128-1153. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1662455
Zhang, L., Wang, X., He, T., & Han, Z. (2022). A data-driven optimized mechanism for improving online collaborative learning: taking cognitive load into account. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 6984. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/6984
Zhang, X. (2019). Memrise. CALICO Journal, 36(2), 152-161. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.37857
