The document discusses a mobile English language learning project for disadvantaged youth in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India. It aims to examine how a mobile learning resource can provide sustainable support for participants' English language learning in the program. Preliminary observations found daily use of mobile resources aligned with classes, sharing with others, but challenges in impact measurement and technical issues for some. The action research methodology employs a cyclical approach to find more sustainable solutions through participant actions and reflection. External validity of findings is debated given the specific research context.

1. Mobile English language learning for
disadvantaged urban youth in Dharavi, Mumbai
Perspectives from the field
Laura Hakimi, Department of Education, University of Oxford

2. Mobiles in India
 Approximately 1 billion mobile
subscriptions (ITU 2012)
 Fierce competition between
mobile providers means low
prices for consumers
 Ethnographic studies
emphasise integral role of
mobiles in society in urban
slum areas, particularly for
young people (eg. Rangaswamy
et al. 2010)

3. The potential of mobiles for learning
 Means to disseminate
information and acquire
knowledge
 Means to reduce social
exclusion and increase
participation of marginalised
communities
 Flexible, interactive platform
for educational resources
 Large number of projects
exploring this potential in
developing world.

4. An emerging research field
 Mobile learning is still in its infancy and
models of best practice are, in many cases,
foggy abstractions of potential and promise
(UNESCO 2013)
 Reluctance to admit failure
 Many projects - despite optimistic beginnings
- never move out of the pilot phase and
disappear when initial funding money is
exhausted. (UNESCO 2013)
 Sustainability: The extent to which an
initiative can continue without ongoing
external inputs (Kumar 2005; Harris et al.
2004)

5. Why Dharavi?
 Largest slum in Asia (a dubious
title) (Sharma 2000)
 Lack of education and secure
employment opportunities (ILO
2005)
 English language and ICT
identified as key skills for access
to employment, education and
training (Graddol 2010)
 Access via local NGO English
language program

6. Youth Empowerment Programme
 Three target groups: women,
jobseekers, and school
dropouts
 3.5 month courses run 6 days
per week
 Spoken English language and
ICT classes
 English classes follow ‘English
for Employability’ curriculum

7. Research questions
To what extent does the use of a mobile learning resource
provide a sustainable means of enhancing the learning of young
adult participants in an English language program in Dharavi,
Mumbai?
 How do the students use the mobile learning resource provided to
them to support their learning of English language?
 What are the key drivers for and barriers to using a mobile
learning resource to support English language learning in this
setting? How might any barriers be overcome?

8. Mobile resources
• Series of activities aligned to the NGO’s
existing class curriculum
• Standalone resources stored on microSD card
for offline learning
• Java and Android compatibility
• Installed on learners’ own handsets where
possible

9. Methodology: Action research
“The systematic study of attempts to
change and improve practice by
groups of participants by means of
their own actions and by means of
their own reflection upon the effects
of those actions” (Ebbutt 1985:156)
• Cyclical approach: Action, data
collection, reflection
• The point of action research is to
find more sustainable (less
unsustainable) ways of acting
(McTaggart 2004)

10. Preliminary observations
 Evidence of regular (often daily) use of mobile resources in
alignment with classroom curriculum.
 Extensive sharing of resources with family members,
neighbours and friends.
 Challenge in demonstrating definitive impact on students’
English language skills.
 Unfamiliarity with technology presents technical and social
problems for some learners.
 Rapidly changing landscape in terms of the technology that is
available, affordable, and desirable.
 Challenge of managing expectations of students, teachers,
NGO representatives, technical partner and researcher.

11. External validity?
“While this data is inherently specific to the research
setting, it does hold a degree of external validity, since the
theory developed can be interpreted and refined by
others in other real-world situations.”
(Avison et al. 2008)

12. References
 Ebbutt, D. (1985) Educational Action research: some general concerns and specific quibbles, in:
Burgess, R. (ed.) Issues in Educational Research: qualitative methods. Lewes, Falmer.
 Graddol, G. (2010) English Next India. British Council 2010.
 Harris, R. (2004). Information and communication technologies for poverty alleviation, the United
Nations Development Programme’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme.
 ITU (2012) ITU data release 2012: Key statistical highlights. Available at:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/material/pdf/2011%20Statistical
%20highlights_June_2012.pdf
 Kumar R. (2005) eChoupals:A Study on the Financial Sustainability ofVillage Internet Centers In
Rural Madhya Pradesh, Information Technologies and International Development, 2(1), pp. 45-73.
 McTaggart, R, (1994) Participatory Action Research: Issues in Theory and Practice. Educational
Action Research 2:3 313-337
 Rangaswamy, N. and Nair, S., (2010).The Mobile Phone Store Ecology in a Mumbai Slum
Community: Hybrid Networks for Enterprise. Information Technologies International
Development, 6:3 51-65
 Sharma, K. (2000), Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s Largest Slum. New Delhi: Penguin Books.
 UNESCO (2012) UNESCO Mobile Learning Week Symposium Report. UNESCO 2013.
 Woodill, G. (2011) The Mobile Learning Edge:Tools and Technologies for DevelopingYour Teams
(McGraw-Hill, NewYork)

13. Any questions?
 Laura Hakimi
 DPhil Candidate
 Department of Education
 University of Oxford
 laura.hakimi@education.ox.ac.uk