The Effects of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Korean College Students’ English-Listening Performance andEnglish-Listening Anxiety

Abstract

Despite the increasing significance of mobile technology in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning, most empirical studies to date have been restricted to vocabulary acquisition, grammar learning, and speaking/writing development. However, the present study focuses its attention on changes in Korean college students' listening performance by making use of diverse mobile applications. In addition, this paper distinctively examines how these students' anxiety levels in English listening may differ after implementing mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). Ten Korean college students preparing for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) participated in this mixed-method study. A background questionnaire, a sample TOEFL listening test, and an anxiety-level questionnaire were distributed to them as a starting point. During a 6-week treatment period, the control group continued using traditional learning materials (i.e., textbooks and MP3 files), whereas the experimental group adopted MALL. Then, once again each student took the TOEFL listening test and filled out the anxiety-level questionnaire-both were similar to the pretests. As a last step, the researcher interviewed the participants individually. The research findings show that the experimental group somewhat enhanced TOEFL listening comprehension, while the control group remained almost the same. The influence of MALL stands out with respect to the participants' English-listening anxiety: only the score of the experimental group was lowered. The last significant conclusion was that, regardless of the group, students' English-listening performance was negatively correlated with their English-listening anxiety both in pretest and in posttest. The results from this study could offer a venue for instructors who teach English listening within EFL contexts.

YouTube-Assisted Listening Instruction (YALI): A Study of Listening Comprehension and Listening Anxiety of University Students of German as a Foreign Language

“…These findings of the present study were consistent with those of previous studies that reported that doing listening activities through mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablet PCs) (Chinnery, 2006;Evans, 2008;Kim, 2018;Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015), online collaborative learning programs (Magen-Nagar & Shonfeld, 2018), and the flipped classroom method of instruction (Abdolrezapour, 2019;Lai & Hwang, 2016;Qiu & Luo, 2022) had a significant effect on reducing students' FL listening anxiety. A possible explanation for this may be that students' other basic (reading, speaking, and writing) and supportive skills (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation) compared to their listening skills improved during the treatment process.…”

The Effects of Online Learning on Alleviating Students’ Chinese Language Learning Anxiety: A Study in a Chinese University

“…Listening anxiety has been extensively studied with regard to foreign language learning in an online context: Rahimi and Soleymani (2015) noticed that the use of mobile learning could reduce EFL students' listening anxiety and improve their listening comprehension; Kim (2018) also confirmed that by using mobile phones Korean EFL students had better experience of listening practice. Learning from these studies, one can assume that the technology-supported approach could effectively alleviate 86 students' listening anxiety.…”

Affective Support for Self-Regulation in Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

“…Ye, Chan and Hsu (2021) highlight in their meta-analysis of teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in the context of designing technology-enhanced instruction, that teachers need to work towards eliciting meta-cognitive and reflective thinking within dialogues with students and prompt them to share stories, ideas, experiences and reflections. While some studies advocate for some form of teacher control in MALL contexts (e.g., Kim, 2018), other studies have found that such collaborative learning networks best flourish without direct teacher intervention. Peeters and Pretorious (2020), for instance, found that a teacher's task-based design, with prompts to make students collaborate and share experiences and stories, enhanced 'learner leadership' and fostered the formation of a virtual community of practice.…”