An Investigation into The Use of The Smartphone Application 'Memrise' in Supporting English Vocabulary Learning among Undergraduate Students in Saudi Arabia Abdulmajeed Almansour A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2019 Declaration I hereby certify that this submission is my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the University or other institute of higher learning. ii Acknowledgments All praises and thanks are due to Allah the most gracious and most merciful, who abundantly offered me health, strength, patience and knowledge to complete this exciting PhD journey. My greatest gratitude and thanks go to my Director of Studies Dr Amanda Mason, who I have been privileged to be supervised by. Many thanks for her patience, constructive comments, guidance and invaluable suggestions throughout all the stages of my PhD journey. I would like also thank my second supervisor, Ms Brigitte Hordern for her invaluable advice and comments. Also, I am honoured and grateful to have Dr James Turner as my third supervisor who helped me a lot with his academic and technological comments. To my loving parents, I would like to thank my late father Abdullah for his support, who died during my PhD journey, too unfortunate he cannot see me graduate (May Allah have mercy on his soul). My sincere gratitude and love to my mother Sarah who have always been there to support and encourage me in my journey in every way possible. Many thanks to all my brothers and sisters for their continual support and encouragement. Finally and most importantly to my beloved family, to my wife Amal for her sacrifice, patience and countless ways of help, by providing me with love, encouragement, support and for being always there for me. I also dedicated this PhD thesis to my two lovely daughters Sarah and Yara. I love and cherish you all. Thank you for all the love and support you have shown me over the years. iii Last but not least, I must thank the government of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Education and Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University for sponsoring and providing me with this opportunity to complete my postgraduate studies. iv Abstract This research investigated students’ use and perception of value of the mobile smartphone application Memrise as a support to their vocabulary learning of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This study followed a mixed method sequential explanatory approach in which data were collected through questionnaire survey, pre and post tests and semi-structured interviews. The total participants (n=225) were learners at the Imam University in Saudi Arabia who had completed the basic entry year to study the language to degree level. Data gathered from the questionnaire (n= 205), pre and post-tests (n= 189) and semi-structured interviews (n= 11). Participants were provided with the questionnaire at the beginning of the semester and vocabulary pre-test. Then, participants were randomly divided into two groups Memrise and non-Memrise. The findings of the study showed a significance in the post-test scores for Memrise users. It was further made possible to identify vocabulary learning strategies that students use to learn with and without the use of mobile apps and the results were indicative of improved performance in test score achievement for those utilising the app functions which aided vocabulary knowledge accumulation and retention. The students were not schooled in the use of the functions of the software, simply advised where to access it, to ascertain evidence of its ease of use and enable conclusions to be drawn of the motivation to seek their own methods of learning. The evidence showed Memrise to be valuable in the support of traditional learning for students, improving performance beyond that achieved by institutional teacher guided learning. Essentially, a conclusion drawn from the qualitative interviews is that independence and autonomy in the practice of learning must be taught. This finding enables propositions to be developed to change the somewhat authoritarian teaching attitudes and practice prevalent in Saudi institutions. The study has, as such, achieved its objectives and it is v expected to be submitted to the Saudi Ministry of Education in its review of the Vision 2030 initiative in 2020. vi Table of Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................. iii Abstract................................................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................ xi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................ xii 1 Introduction Chapter ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Context of Study: History, Culture and Faith in Saudi Arabia .............................................................. 2 Educational Technology in Higher Education ...................................................................................... 5 Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 .......................................................................................................... 7 Mobile Learning in Saudi Arabia ................................................................................................. 8 The Fundamental Role of English Language in Saudi Arabia ............................................................ 14 English Language Education – The 21st Century Imperative .................................................... 15 The Importance of Vocabulary in Language Learning ............................................................... 16 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................... 17 Learner Independence ................................................................................................................ 18 Learner Autonomy, Motivation and Technology ....................................................................... 19 Teacher Training ................................................................................................................................. 21 The Memrise App in Language Learning ............................................................................................ 24 Problem Statement and Purpose of Study ........................................................................................... 25 Aims and Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................................... 27 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................. 28 The Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................. 28 The Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................................. 30 2 Literature Review Chapter ........................................................................................................................... 32 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 32 The Role of Technology in Life, Learning and Prosperity.................................................................. 35 Mobile Devices, Phones and the Smartphone ............................................................................ 36 English Language and Vocabulary Learning ...................................................................................... 37 The Importance of Vocabulary in Language Learning ............................................................... 38 Vocabulary Knowledge and Language Proficiency ................................................................... 41 How Students Learn: Theories of Knowledge Acquisition and Retention .......................................... 43 Behaviourism ............................................................................................................................. 44 Cognitivism, Constructivism and Interactionist Learning .......................................................... 46 Innatism ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Vocabulary Learning Strategies .........................................................................................................