Item Details

An Empirical Study on Vocabulary Recall and Learner Autonomy through Mobile‑Assisted Language Learning in Blended Learning Settings

Issue: Vol 37 No. 3 (2020)

Journal: CALICO Journal

Subject Areas:

DOI: 10.1558/cj.40436

Abstract:

This study aims to examine the efficacy of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) of English as a foreign or second language (L2) through two perspectives: learning gain and learner autonomy. Previous studies have shown that L2 learning combined with media could activate the learning processes, resulting in an easier recall of the target vocabulary required in L2. In addition, mobileassisted L2 learning could also enhance autonomous learning inasmuch as successful MALL would have to rely mainly on the autonomous learner even in learning contexts where the goal and task are already fixed. Based on this standpoint, the study hypothesizes that the engagement in L2 learning with mobile devices along with a classroom-based writing course could make L2 learners not only achieve the target L2 lexis effectively, leading to better L2 writing performance, but also help them to be more autonomous even in a setting when the task and goal are fixed. To test this hypothesis, both empirical and questionnaire studies were conducted for Japanese undergraduates (n=94). Based on the results of three weeks of L2 academic writing practice between groups learning with and without mobile devices, the findings of our t-test analyses of learners’ vocabulary recall and a questionnaire survey about learner autonomy suggested that MALL significantly contributed not only to L2 vocabulary recall in comprehensive and productive tests, but also to enhancing positive attitudes towards autonomous learning.

Author: Takeshi Sato, Fumiko Murase, Tyler Burden

View Full Text

References :

Benson, P. (1997). The philosophy and politics of learner autonomy. In P. Benson & P. Voller
(Eds.), Autonomy and independence in language learning (pp. 18–34). London, England:
Longman.
Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. Harlow,
England: Pearson Education.
Burston, J. (2015). Twenty years of MALL project implementation: A meta-analysis of
learning outcomes. ReCALL, 27(1), 4–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344014000159
Çakmak, F., & Erçetin, G. (2018). Effects of gloss type on text recall and incidental vocabulary
learning in mobile-assisted L2 listening. ReCALL, 30(1), 24–47. https://doi.
org/10.1017/S0958344017000155
Chen, C. M., Liu, H., & Huang, H. B. (2019). Effects of a mobile game-based English vocabulary
learning app on learners’ perceptions and learning performance: A case study of
Taiwanese EFL learners. ReCALL, 31(2), 170–188. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0958344018000228
Collentine, K. (2011). Learner autonomy in a task-based 3D world and production. Language
Learning & Technology, 15(3), 50–67.
Dang, T. T. (2012). Learner autonomy: A synthesis of theory and practice. The Internet
Journal of Language, Culture & Society, 35, 52–67.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
G-TELP (n.d.). Overview G-TELP. Retrieved May 19, 2020 from https://g-telp.jp/english/
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford, England: Pergamon
Press for Council of Europe.
Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2015). Language as a bridge connecting formal and informal language
learning through mobile devices. In L. H. Wong, M. Milrad, & M. Specht (Eds.),
Seamless learning in the age of mobile connectivity (pp. 281–294). Singapore: Springer.
Laurillard, D. (2007). Pedagogical forms for mobile learning: Framing research questions.
In N. Pachler (Ed.), Mobile learning: Towards a research agenda (pp. 153–175). London,
England: The Institute of Education.
Lee, L. (2016). Autonomous learning through task-based instruction in fully online language
courses. Language Learning & Technology, 20 (2), 81–97.
Loewen, S., Crowther, D., Isbell, D. R., Kim, K. M., Maloney, J., Miller, Z. F., & Rawal, H.
(2019). Mobile-assisted language learning: A Duolingo case study. ReCALL, 31(3), 293–
311. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344019000065
Lyddon, P. A. (2016). Mobile-assisted language learning and language learner autonomy.
In S. Papadima-Sophocleous, L. Bradley, & S. Thouësny (Eds.), Short papers from EUROCALL
2016 (pp. 302–306). Dublin, Ireland: Research-publishing.net.
Murase, F. (2015). Measuring language learner autonomy: Problems and possibilities. In
C. J. Everhard & L. Murphy (Eds.), Assessment and autonomy in language learning (pp.
35–63). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Oxford, R. L. (2003). Toward a more systematic model of L2 learner autonomy. In D. Palfreyman
& R. C. Smith (Eds.), Learner autonomy across cultures: Language education perspectives (pp. 75–91). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pachler, N., Bachmair, B., & Cook, J. (2010). Mobile learning: Structures, agency, practices.
New York, NY: Springer.
Pennycook, A. (1997). Cultural alternatives and autonomy. In P. Benson & P. Voller (Eds.),
Autonomy and independence in language learning (pp. 35–53). London, England:
Longman.
Reinders, H. (2011). Learner autonomy and new learning environments. Language Learning
& Technology, 15(3), 1–3.
Reinders, H., & Hubbard, P. (2013). CALL and learner autonomy: Affordances and constraints.
In M. Thomas, H. Reinders, & M. Warschauer (Eds.), Contemporary computer
assisted language learning (pp. 359–375). London, England: Continuum Books.
Reinders, H., & White, C. (2011). Special issue commentary: Learner autonomy and new
learning environments. Language Learning & Technology, 15(3), 1–3.
Reinders, H., & White, C. (2016). 20 years of autonomy and technology: How far have we
come and where to next? Language Learning and Technology, 20(2), 143–154.
Rosell-Aguilar, F. (2018). Autonomous language learning through a mobile application: A
user evaluation of the busuu app. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31(8), 854–881.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1456465
Sato, T. (2016). Applicability of technology-enhanced visual glosses for explicit L2 vocabulary
learning: The enhancement of metaphoric competence through the learning of
English polysemous words. Ampersand, 3, 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
amper.2016.03.003
Sato, T., Matsunuma, M., & Suzuki, A. (2013). Enhancement of automatization through
vocabulary learning using CALL: Can prompt language processing lead to better comprehension
in L2 reading? ReCALL, 25(1), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0958344012000328
Sato, T., & Suzuki, A. (2010). Do multimedia-oriented visual glosses really facilitate EFL
vocabulary learning?: A comparison of planar images with three-dimensional images.
Asian EFL Journal, 12(4), 160–172.
Schwienhorst, K. (2003). Learner autonomy and tandem learning: Putting principles into
practice in synchronous and asynchronous telecommunications environments. Computer
Assisted Language Learning, 16, 427–443. https://doi.org/10.1076/
call.16.5.427.29484
Steinberg, R. G. (2008). Perfect phrases for the TOEFL speaking and writing sections. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Ushioda, E. (2013). Motivation matters in mobile language learning: A brief commentary.
Language Learning & Technology, 17(3), 1–5.
Yeh, Y., & Wang, C.-W. (2003). Effects of multimedia vocabulary annotations and learning
styles on vocabulary learning. CALICO Journal, 21(1), 131–144.