Mobile-Assisted Language Learning from the Student Perspective

This chapter seeks to refocus the conversation about mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) from the instructor’s perspective to the student’s. I argue that mobile “teaching” does not need to be located within a course, but that we are “m-teaching” whenever we encourage or enable learners to use mobile devices “to facilitate, support, enhance and extend ... [their] learning” (Attewell, Savill-Smith, & Douch, 2009, p. 1). This chapter will explore important concerns related to this definition, including conceptions of learning, blurred boundaries between personal and educational lives, the affordances and limitations of mobile devices, and learner autonomy. A look at the m-learning research literature will show students’ perceptions of MALL running the gamut from skeptics to believers. Finally, the chapter reports on the long-term investigation of learner beliefs and practices of MALL which is underway at Mount Holyoke College, and offers five initial conclusions.

Challenges of Adopting Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 for Language Learning

Podcasts, blogs, and wikis are the best-liked Web 2.0 services used by language teachers for homework assignments or special projects. Although these services sound promising, the potential challenges to their use should not be overlooked. This chapter discusses challenges, including economic aspects, technical support and training, pedagogy and teachers’ roles, and feedback and evaluation. Suggestions are also provided to resolve the concerns. Detailed introductions of podcasts, wikis, blogs, Web 2.0, and Mobile 2.0 are presented, along with analysis of geographic users’ learning styles and characteristics. Mobile technology to assist language learning is also explored.

Getting Started

Podcasting is an excellent way to engage students and to supplement the instructional materials used in face-to-face and online courses and in Mobile-Assisted Language Learning programs. A well-produced weekly podcast can enhance course content, learning activities, and student-teacher interactions, while enabling students to take their learning materials with them wherever they go, thus reinforcing and supporting language acquisition. While there are many resources that delineate how to create a podcast, few address the instructional, technological, and production factors that must be considered for the effective use of podcasting in instruction. This chapter includes a brief review of the literature that addresses the use of podcasts in language learning programs, and offers a simple guide for creating your first podcast, lessons learned, and the results of a student survey on the use of podcasts.

Going beyond Audio

Podcasting presents exciting new opportunities for delivering pedagogical content, but, for effective learning, teaching second languages and their associated cultural aspects often demands the use of textual and visual components. The flexible nature of distributing information via RSS feeds allows for a variety of approaches to delivering multimedia content. This chapter begins with a discussion of some important questions that must be asked at the planning stages of any multimedia podcasting project, followed by several strategies for incorporating multimedia content into podcasts, including situations where each strategy might be appropriate and some of the pros and cons of each approach. Also discussed are some issues related to copyright, and some ways that educators can legally obtain free content to use in their podcasts. The chapter closes with a look at some unanswered questions related to the use of multimedia content in second language education.

Four L2 Learning Objectives to Guide Podcast Design

This chapter addresses the production of podcasts as second language (L2) instructional materials developed by language instructors. The author discusses the importance of having clear language learning objectives when creating podcasts. The clarity of the objectives will depend on the particular nature of these materials and will influence podcast design and outcomes. In an effort to contribute to the understanding of podcast design that effectively promotes L2 acquisition and development, the author proposes that podcasts - when used by students as listening tools - can help the L2 learner accomplish four main learning objectives: (1) language acquisition, (2) development of listening comprehension skills, (3) learning of explicit information about the L2 and (4) awareness of the target culture. As with any L2 learning materials (Mobile Assisted or not), podcast development should be based on what is known about L2 acquisition and best teaching practices (Rosell-Aguilar, 2007; 2009). Therefore, the author addresses some of the aspects of language learning and teaching that should be considered in order to create well-informed podcasts that aim at the four proposed learning objectives.

Podcasting – Past, Present and Future

This chapter explores current and potential pedagogical applications of academic podcasting in K-12 and higher education language learning classrooms. In order to fulfill the purpose of the chapter, it is composed of three primary sections: (1) Where we’ve been - a review of published research on podcasting; (2) Where we are - an investigation of what current teachers and researchers are doing with podcasting in their language classes based on survey results; and (3) Where we’re going - an assessment of future trends and applications. After reading the chapter, the reader should be eager to continue to explore the applications of academic podcasting in the language classroom.

iStudyAbroad

Students studying abroad already don’t leave home without their mobile devices—phones, MP3 players, netbooks, laptops. The potential for m-learning for these device-toting learners holds great promise that can easily be capitalized upon by the savvy teacher. Learners studying abroad who are outfitted with m-learning devices which include well-chosen Web 2.0 resources derive immediate and long range benefits. Furthermore, when organized to communicate with learners back home, the travelers help create a transnational community of practice that shares the wealth of the experiential learning. This chapter takes a tour of mobile learning technologies and techniques that enhance and extend the study abroad experience far beyond the reach of a small group fortunate enough to travel. As has long been the case with CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) and TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning), and now with MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning), experts note that well-chosen resources, along with carefully structured and planned activities, enhance various aspects of language acquisition and social interaction. After the literature review, this chapter considers lessons gleaned from the author’s trails, trials, and errors across a range of technologies and borders. It ends with suggestions for ways to optimize iStudyAbroad today and tomorrow.

Podcasts in Four Categories

Language instructors often struggle to find useful and learner-friendly podcasts to supplement their language instruction. In an attempt to address this issue, we examined a number of podcasts for their applicability for use in teaching vocabulary and language. Based on this analysis, we identified four categories of podcasts that are useful for the learning process: 1) Discrete Category, 2) ESL-Focused, 3) General Audience, and 4) Superpodcasts. In this chapter, we discuss each category of podcast, providing several examples, and then we explore the strengths and weaknesses of each variety. Finally, we offer pedagogical suggestions to demonstrate ways in which language teachers can effectively use the podcasts to organize both in- and out-of-class language learning activities. As a supplement to the chapter, a wiki is also available that includes a number of podcasts covering a variety of languages: http://languagepodcasts.pbworks.com/

A Case Study of Using Podcasts in ESL Modules for Hong Kong Pre-Service Teachers and its Impact on their Attitudes toward Podcasting

As a result of this project, this chapter concludes that podcasts have a lot of potential, not only as an integrative and supplementary learning tool, but also as a powerful generator of knowledge, which encourages active learning – a view shared by Sturgis (2008).

Crossing Classroom Settings and Academic Disciplines while Crossing Geographical Boundaries

American universities are exploring new methods for internationalizing their curricula by applying on- and off-campus strategies and by providing their students with opportunities to become global citizens. The number of overseas study programs increases every year (in spite of the brooding economical circumstances), and student enrollments confirm an interest and an awareness of the linguistic as well as the cultural demands of future professional careers. Unfortunately, the traditional curricula used in these abroad programs do not reflect the steady hunger for academic global initiatives. This instrumental case study examines how university learners enrolled in a one-month credited abroad program benefitted from an innovative curriculum which used iPods® as repositories of study materials as well as tools for cultural involvement. This study also suggests that the use of technology was able to extensively engage students in language- and culture-based tasks and was able to cultivate collaboration and creativity while it allowed them a real sense of an abroad classroom, complete with a wealth of information and resources at their fingertips.