Harnessing uLesson – Mobile E- Learning Application to Improve Students’ Performance in English Grammatical Structure: Implications for Digitalizing Second Language Teaching

The poor performance of students in English Language and English Grammatical Structure in particular (as a component of English Language) in public examination in Nigeria is alarming and calls for concern. This may be so because of the role(s) of English Grammatical Structure in the overall performance of students in the subject. Thus, this study investigated the effects of uLesson – mobile learning application on students‟ performance in English Grammatical Structure in Obanliku Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. The study was carried out to determine whether uLesson – mobile learning application as a digital tool for second language teaching would improve students‟ performance in English grammatical structure. The study adopted quasi-experimental design that involved pre-test, post-test and control groups. One research question guided the study while one hypothesis was formulated and tested. A sample of 68 students were drawn from two secondary schools in the area. One intact class was used for the experimental and control groups. The instrument for data collection was English Grammatical Structures Performance Test (EGSSPT). The instrument was validated. The study question was addressed using the mean and standard deviation. Data collected for the hypothesis were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance. A single hypothesis was examined at the significance level of 0.05. The result revealed that uLesson – mobile learning applications had significant effects on students‟ performance in grammatical structure. It was concluded that mobile learning applications is an effective technological tools that motivates secondary school students in mastering the core curriculum, renewed their confidence in learning and improved their performance in English grammatical structures. It was recommended that, mobile learning applications should be integrated as technological tools in the teaching/learning of English grammatical structure to enable students improve in their learning of English Language.

Keywords: Mobile learning applications, uLesson- mobile learning application, English grammatical structure, digitalizing second language teaching