EFL Teachers’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning in Saudi Arabia During COVID-19: Challenges and Affordances

This study aimed to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia, including their attitudes, levels of proficiency, and challenges they experienced regarding the use of MALL. The study also sought to investigate whether EFL teachers’ backgrounds have any significant impact on their perceptions of MALL. To this end, survey data were collected from 123 EFL teachers who have worked in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. The results revealed teachers’ positive perceptions of MALL, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, participants stated that mobile learning is beneficial and has the potential to support and enhance EFL teaching. Most EFL teachers reported that they did not have a sufficient level of skills/abilities required to develop MALL activities and cited some challenges they faced. The results also indicate a significant difference among participants’ perceptions of MALL based on their professional development and teaching experience, but no difference based on their gender was found. These results indicate that placing a greater emphasis on offering professional development in MALL for Saudi EFL teachers could cultivate both greater proficiency and the ability to overcome challenges. This study concludes by providing recommendations on how to improve MALL implementation as well as directions for future research.

A Digital Future of Diversity, Connectivity, and Sustainability

In a mobile society where information and knowledge become accessible to anyone, anywhere, and anytime on the internet, online education has been transformed fundamentally. By the end of 2020, Mandarin Chinese was taught to over 20 million people in over 180 countries around the world. By critically reviewing 15 recent studies from 2013 to 2021 on mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in teaching and learning Chinese as a second or foreign language (CSL/CFL), this chapter emphasizes the need for pedagogical diversity in goals, practices, and context. In the second theme of ‘connectivity', the new theory of online education connectivism is applied to evaluate the official Chinese language learning mobile app named ‘e-Learn Chinese'. In the final theme of ‘sustainability', it demonstrates an ecosystem of MALL through an ecological perspective based on a critical discussion of the mostly reviewed ten mobile language learning apps, which could innovate sustainable pedagogies in a life-long learning society.

Using Hangman Game Application For The EFL Classroom: It Efficacy for Learners to Master Vocabulary

In this era, technology has taken apart in every platforms, including in educational settings, especially Language Teaching and Learning (LTL). This study purposed to determine that the using Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) through Hangman Game as one of the games could significantly gave the effect for English Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Indonesia context to master the vocabulary. The participants of this study were the 10th grades students of SMA Negeri 1 Tebing Tinggi Kab. Serdang Bedagai in academic year 2018/2019 that consist of 20 students. The technique of analysis of that was used at this study were the analysis of qualitative data and the quantitative data. The qualitative data was taken from interview, observation of students’ learning process, researcher’s note. While, the quantitative data was collected from the mean score of test that given to the learners in Pre-Cycle, Cycle I and Cycle II. The findings of this study found that Hangman Game gave the new achievement for the EFL learners when they were doing the activities of learning process in the class. So this situation made the learners had good motivation during the language teaching and learning process and they also actively and enthusiastically in the class. These things indicated that the application Hangman Game could improve the EFL learners’ vocabulary mastery.

Mobile Assisted Language Learning

The increased use of sophisticated mobile devices opens up new possibilities and challenges for language teachers and learners, which has led to an increasing need to consider issues relating to mobile technologies specifically. To date, there is no comprehensive book-length treatment of issues relating to mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). This book fills that gap, providing a resource for present and future language teachers, and for graduate students of applied linguistics and TESOL, to understand how mobile devices can best be used for language teaching. It is founded on existing research, practice and theory, and offers a balanced perspective, based on the author's own experiences with mobile learning - considering the limitations of such an approach, as well as the benefits. Written in a practical and approachable tone, it provides a much-needed guide to MALL, and its fascinating insights promote further debate within the field.

The Relationship between Learning Vocabulary via Mobile (Mobile-Assisted Language Learning) and Iranian EFL Learners’ Social Anxiety and Loneliness

The present study has investigated the relationship between learning English vocabulary via mobile phone and the learners’ social anxiety and loneliness. The participants of the study were thirty-two intermediate English as foreign language (EFL) learners studying English at the University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Sixty American English idioms were chosen and became available in a Telegram channel, during a six-week period of treatment to provide the participants with Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). A researcher-designed achievement test was administered to assess the learners’ vocabulary learning via mobile phone. Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) (Leary 1983) and UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 (ULS) (Russell 1996) were used to estimate the learners’ social anxiety and loneliness, respectively. The results showed no significant correlation between the variables; thus, it can be concluded that MALL not only frees the learners from the restrictions of time and place, but also minimizes the possible intervention of some socially and emotionally affective variables, such as social anxiety and loneliness in the process of language learning. Keywords: Learning Vocabulary, Mobile-assisted Language Learning, Social Anxiety, Loneliness

Analysis of Mobile Apps for Learning Grammar through Mobile Assisted Language Learning Approach

The objective of the current study is to evaluate the recently developed mobile apps for learning and improving English grammar. This study selected 10 grammar apps ranked 3 and above by online users with a large number of installations. The study adapted a framework proposed by Supyan Hussin (2013) with four criteria: System, Program, Curriculum, and Language & Culture. Furthermore, information provided in Google Play Store App assessment in terms of App users’ Reviews, Ratings, and Downloads also was used to assess the selected grammar apps. First, the findings show that the grammar apps tend to teach grammar out of context, second, apps minimally adapt to the user’s skill sets. Third, the grammar apps rarely offer explanatory corrective feedback to the users. Fourth, some grammar apps have accuracy issue in terms content and typo. Despite pedagogical paradigm shift to communicative approaches to language learning, the assessed grammar apps are more behaviorists in nature where features of cognitivism and constructivism, and particularly connectivism approaches are rare. To better align with MALL, contextualized language, explanatory feedback, and adaptive technology need to be incorporated into these apps.

Teaching Communicatively in a Classroom with Mobile-sourced Materials

Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is now common in extra-curricular language learning, but, more recently, teachers have increasingly sought ways to utilise MALL as a communicative classroom tool. Research into the extent that MALL can transform a whole communicative language course, and learners’ impressions of such courses, is scarce. This study, therefore, sought the opinions of five undergraduate learners on a short communicative English language course based on communicative principles, with materials entirely sourced from learner’s own devices. Learner reflections elicited in interviews suggested that MALL had aided the facilitation of an environment that was interactive, motivating, differentiated, authentic and autonomous, at times potentially more so than on a course using traditional material sources. The novel aspect of allowing freedom in choosing materials caused some complications, though none were considered insurmountable with minor adjustments to the course plan. In summary, student reactions implied that a communicative course could be taught exclusively through mobile-sourced materials, but further research is required to identify exactly how this would best be achieved. Nevertheless, findings here give reasons for practitioners to explore methods of classroom teaching inclusive of MALL that encourage self-directed learning, the creation of a platform for interaction, personalization, differentiation, a shared experience for learners and elements of game-play.

Caratteristiche e implicazioni di una glottodidattica mobile. Un possibile quadro teorico-metodologico di riferimento

Il presente contributo intende fornire una riflessione sulle potenzialità dell’utilizzo del Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) nella didattica delle lingue a distanza. Il MALL integra l’uso dei dispositivi mobili nel processo di insegnamento linguistico (Bezircilioğlu, 2016), costituendo una modalità motivante per gli studenti, che utilizzano strumenti familiari per elaborare nuova conoscenza. In base al principio dell’anytime, anywhere (Kukulska-Hulme & Shield, 2008), gli apprendenti possono rapportarsi con il docente e i propri pari da luoghi diversi e consultare i materiali anche in modalità asincrona (Chuang, 2016). A partire dalla definizione di MALL, ci si è chiesti quali siano i benefici e i limiti di tale approccio, nonché le sue implicazioni glottodidattiche. Le risposte a tali interrogativi si inseriscono in un quadro teorico-metodologico dedicato allo sviluppo di una glottodidattica mobile standardizzata, in cui vengono forniti anche esempi di attività utili in un corso di lingua a distanza. Parole chiave: MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING, DIDATTICA A DISTANZA, MOBILITÀ This study aims to provide further reflections on the potential of using Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in remote language teaching. MALL integrates the use of mobile devices into the language teaching process (Bezircilioğlu, 2016), fostering students’ motivation as they use familiar tools to process new knowledge. Given the “anytime-anywhere” principle (Kukulska-Hulme & Shield, 2008), students can interact with each other and with their teacher, from different places while also consulting resources in asynchronous mode (Chuang, 2016). Starting from the definition of MALL, we question this approach in terms of its benefits and limitations, including its implications for language teaching. The answers to these questions become part of a theoretical-methodological context dedicated to the development of a standardized mobile language teaching, in which examples of useful class activities in a remote language learning course can be found. Key words: MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING, REMOTE TEACHING, MOBILITY Esta contribución tiene como objetivo profundizar en la reflexión sobre el potencial que tiene la utilización del aprendizaje de lenguas mediante tecnología móvil, en inglés Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), en la didáctica de lenguas a distancia. El enfoque MALL integra el uso de dispositivos móviles en el proceso de enseñanza de lenguas (Bezircilioğlu, 2016) fomentando así la motivación del alumnado a medida que este utiliza herramientas que le resultan familiares para procesar el nuevo conocimiento. Con base en el principio “en cualquier lugar y momento” (Kukulska-Hulme & Shield, 2008), el alumnado puede interactuar entre iguales y con su profesor desde diferentes lugares mientras consulta al mismo tiempo recursos de manera asíncrona (Chuang, 2016). Partiendo de la definición del MALL, cuestionamos los beneficios y las limitaciones de este enfoque, además de sus implicaciones para la enseñanza de lenguas. Las respuestas a estas cuestiones pasan a formar parte de un contexto teórico-metodológico dedicado al desarrollo de una enseñanza estandarizada de lenguas a través de dispositivos móviles en el que se pueden encontrar ejemplos de actividades útiles en un curso de aprendizaje de lenguas a distancia. Palabras clave: APRENDIZAJE MEDIANTE TECNOLOGÍA MÓVIL; ENSEÑANZA A DISTANCIA; MOVILIDAD