Smartphone Culture: Shifting Ways of Students in Learning English at an EFL Classroom

This article is aimed to investigate the shifting ways of students in learning English at the English Department (ED) of State Islamic University (UIN) DatokaramaPalu, Indonesia. It is aimed to explain how smartphones have remarkably changed the ways, experiences, and attitudes of students in learning English.To gain in-depth analysis related to the issues being investigated, this research employs a case study design while considering the views of constructivism. Data collection is based on the Google form-based semi-structured interviews along with observations in the classroom. The analysis coveredthree main issues: factors affecting the need for students to use smartphonesfor learning; attitudes of students towards learning, and social impacts due to the use of smartphones for learning English. The research revealed that there were a number of ways where students usedsmartphones for learning English. It also revealed that few factors triggered the use of smartphones for learning English which slowly changed their attitudes and brought a number of social impacts amongst the students. The implication of the research is to inform teachers, lecturers and educational stakeholders to include new technologies in EFL curriculum and create learning atmospheres and in which studentscould use their smartphones for effective English learning