Perceived convenience in an extended technology acceptance model: Mobile technology and English learning for college students

Abstract

Since convenience is one of the features for mobile learning, does it affect attitude and intention of using mobile technology? The technology acceptance model (TAM), proposed by David (1989), was extended with perceived convenience in the present study. With regard to English language mobile learning, the variables in the extended TAM and its explanatory power were analysed and antecedent factors that affected acceptance of English mobile learning were also examined. Participants were 158 college students from the middle part of Taiwan. After conducting English mobile learning with a PDA, data was collected by questionnaires. The results revealed that: a) perceived convenience, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were antecedent factors that affected acceptance of English mobile learning; b) perceived convenience, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had a significantly positive effect on attitude toward using; and c) perceived usefulness and attitude toward using had a significantly positive effect on continuance of intention to use. Overall, the extended TAM in the present study was effective at predicting and explaining the acceptance of English mobile learning. In the past, there were few mobile learning related studies examining the relationships between perceived convenience and other variables in the TAM. Therefore, the findings in the present study provide a reference for the future TAM and mobile learning related studies.