Mobile, L2 vocabulary learning, and fighting illiteracy: A case study of Iranian semi-illiterates beyond transition level

As mobile learning simultaneously employs both handheld computers and mobile telephones and other  devices  that  draw  on  the  same  set  of  functionalities,  it  throws  open  the  door  for  swift connection between learners  and teachers. This  study examined and articulated the impact of  the application of mobile devices for teaching English vocabulary items to 123 Iranian semi-illiterates (70 female, and 53 male learners, aging 35-55) who passed the transition course, namely, the fifth grade  in  Iran's  literacy  movement  organization  centers  of  five  counties  around  Isfahan.  It  was intended  to  see  if  the  way  of  presenting  materials  and  guidelines  (formal  vs.  informal)  through cell-phone would have any significant connection with their performance. To those ends, after five weeks  learning  of  36  new  English  vocabulary  items  in  non-formal  mode  of  delivery,  they participated  in  a  testing  phase  comprised  of  three  sub-tests.  The  results  showed  that  the  succinct nature of today's short message service (SMS) texts allows for a more successful application of the informal style of language in  the realm of teaching English to semi-illiterate citizens. It  was also found that annotated materials led into the outperformance of the semi-illiterates.