Abstract

The present article explores the use of smartphones by Arab Open University (AOU) students in learning the Arabic Language. The sample consisted of 275 students of those taking Arabic for primary school teachers. A questionnaire was prepared by the researcher to specify relevant uses and was divided into 4 sections: types of students’ devices, useful services, students’ purposes of using such services and challenges to the learning of Arabic on these devices.

The results showed, first, that most students used smartphones, by different percentages, except for the GPS application. Second, they made use of all the services, by various percentages, except for those of games and image viewers. Third, they used smartphones for diverse purposes, but not for administrative data related to learning Arabic. Fourth, there were numerous challenges to the learning process on these devices.

Finally, recommendations were made to develop the use of smartphones in learning Arabic according to the above findings.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.