Mobile-assisted language learning in Chinese higher education context: a systematic review from the perspective of the situated learning theory

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed numerous systematic investigations on mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). However, very few research synthesis studies focused on the higher education context in mainland China. This paper provides a systematic review of the findings of 23 studies published between 2015 and 2020 in mainland China. The aim of this review is twofold: 1) to examine prevalent researched elements in extant MALL studies; and 2) to investigate ways in which the two original components of the Situated Learning Theory (SLT), including Legitimate Peripheral Participation and Communities of Practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), have a bearing on MALL. This systematic review resulted in two major findings. First, five key researched elements were revealed, e.g., target language teaching areas, and adopted applications/software. Second, guided by the two original elements of SLT, four derived elements were identified, namely authenticity, social interactions and collaborations, apprenticeship learning, and beliefs and behaviours. The findings suggest the need to develop sound MALL pedagogies associated with sociocultural aspects of language learning in relevant contexts. This review study also provides insights into how Chinese language professionals and practitioners can improve curriculum design and resource development to adapt to future trends in MALL.

Fostering complex professional skills with interactive simulation technology: A virtual reality‐based flipped learning approach

“…However, the flipped learning approach could increase students' learning engagement and teacher-student interaction, but it is not easy for them to deeply experience clinical applications. Thinking from the perspective of situated learning, context learning enables learners to solve practical problems effectively based on real situations (Li et al, 2022).…”

TikTok in Mobile-Assisted English Language Learning: An Exploratory Study

“…collecting qualitative data, analysing qualitative data, reporting qualitative results, developing hypotheses for testing, collecting quantitative data, analysing quantitative data, reporting quantitative results, and interpreting all the findings), the strength of which was that the researchers could identify the important variables pertinent to the phenomenon of interest and examine them quantitatively to generate meaningful findings [31]. Given that there was a lack of comprehensive understanding about MALL [8] and TikTok use in language learning in the research context [9], this design was appropriate as it could inform the researchers of the important variables in the studied phenomenon and then allow them to examine the relationships of the variables.…”

“…It is interesting to note that although MALL is a topic of significant interest in China with a great deal of previous and ongoing research, the endeavour focusing on a specific Web 2.0 tool or application is rare [9]. That is why all the studies reviewed above have been conducted out of China's context but placed in Southeast Asian countries, where educational policies have actively supported MALL [29].…”

“…Under the circumstance that rapid technological advances have encouraged the popularisation of Web 2.0 platforms among the public [6] and that the outbreak and recurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic have led online learning to be the norm [7], MALL has become particularly essential. However, although increasing attention of research has been devoted to MALL in China, a research gap has appeared due to the fact that most previous studies have emphasised the effects of MALL on language proficiency instead of the other effects it may exert [8] and that genetic terms, such as mobile devices, have been mostly studied without probing into specified tools [9]. To understand the diverse issues about the implementation of MALL, the researchers narrow down the scope of this paper to the use of Douyin, better known as TikTok, in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning because it is the most popular Web 2.0 application with Generation Z, the understanding of which can be -transferred into the push-power to engage these young students in their academic study in the modern digital arena‖ [10].…”

Mobile assisted language learning in learning English through social networking tools: An account of Instagram feed-based tasks on learning grammar and attitude among English as a foreign language learners

“…With the use of the internet, the users are enabled to access the internet to search for information, email, read e-books, and shop irrespective of time and place ( Pachler et al, 2010 ). The integration of mobile device technology into teaching and learning was introduced as mobile assisted language learning (MALL), which is defined as a specialization of mobile learning (m-Learning) and a branch of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) ( Kukulska-Hulme and Shield, 2008 ; Li et al, 2020 ; Namaziandost et al, 2020 ). According to Huang et al (2012) , mobile technologies have many positive advantages: flexibility, low cost, small size, and user-friendliness, to name a few.…”