International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2016)

M-learning in Foreign Language Learning

Bianqi Sun Hou Shu

Department of Foreign Language School of Electronic Engineering
Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication
Beijing, China Beijing, China

Abstract—Teachers nowadays have much more roles With the emergence and rapid improvement of small,
compared to that of prE-internet period. As an English teacher, portable notebook computers, for instance, the concept of
how to help and support students to achieve the maximum “mobile learning” has aroused the interest of educators and
learning result are always his top concerns. The purpose of this gained great popularity among college students. Ever-updating
paper is to demonstrate that MobilE-Assisted Language technologies, developments in information technologies and
Learning (MALL) in general and smartphone usage in telecommunication have inspired people to make use of this
particular, is capable of supporting applications based on a “anytime” and “anywhere” technology in language teaching.
variety of learning theories, especially constructivism and Many scholars (Meskill 2010; Pegrum 2014; Evans 2008;
methodological approaches. The paper aims at introducing the
Kukulska-Hulme 2009) have studied the use of mobile devices
experience of language teaching and learning through the means
of social networking devices, providing some practical solutions in teaching and learning, and put forward instructive
to the problems existing in Chinese foreign language teaching of suggestions of effective language acquisition. This paper
higher education, sharing the experience, observation, concrete further explores the in-depth use of mobile devices and
approaches in the course of College English and ESP course for clarifies some concepts in this field. The benefits, limitations
non-English-major postgraduate. It is hoped that the strategies and practical approaches are discussed.
employed in the course of language instruction can offer some
constructive insights for English teachers and students. II. DEFINING CONSTRUCTIVISM
Keywords—M-learning; mobile device; smartphone; mobility; Traditional way of language learning has been changing
language learning; MALL with the improvement of technology, focusing on the
interaction and autonomy of the learners. For foreign language
learners, lack of authentic environment is always the main
I. INTRODUCTION
reason for “deaf and dumb” English. Communication with the
English language teaching has been severely criticized by native speakers is, with no doubt, a big problem. Though the
all walks of people due to the ever-increasing social demand teachers try to make every student open their mouth in English
and the relatively poor status quo. Teachers feel obliged to class, yet because of the huge size of language class, each
improve the situation by changing the traditional mode of student barely has one chance to speak in 50-minutE-long class.
teaching with the help of modern technology. Modern mobile This explains why the emergence of mobile devices has
tools, Web 2.0 technology and the internet have not only inspired educators, scholars, and investors so much as to
brought great convenience to our day-to-day life, but also explore uses of those devices in language teaching. As a
updated the traditional means of language teaching and supplementary tool, incorporated with the internet, mobile
learning, which offer a new platform for students‟ devices (mainly smartphone) become more powerful than ever.
communication, discussion and experience sharing, serving as They broaden the concept of “class”, making prE-class, in-
the source of information. 3M-Learning (multi-modality, class, post-class blended together, thus creating an ever-
multi-media, and multi-environment) makes it a continuous existing virtual environment or platform for students to
process with no limits to time, space and regular classroom, communicate, practice, and improve academically. This
which immensely extends the educational dimensions for exactly conforms to the theory of constructivism, which
language learners. emphasizes the knowledge construction in certain social
context collectively or individually.
In China, the last several decades have witnessed a steady
and rapid improvement in computer assisted language learning Constructivism in education emerged after the behaviorist
(CALL) materials from very simple text-related tasks and movement as a prevailing and refreshing view of learning that
simple exercises to highly sophisticated interactive tools and focuses on the active learners within the teaching-learning
multimedia applications. It is widely accepted that the new process. In higher education, it is highly advocated that classes
technology has led to new perspectives in teaching, and should be student-centered, and students play a dominant role
language teaching is among the fields which have undergone in the whole process of teaching and learning. The advent of
dramatic changes as a result of rapid improvement in modern social tools makes it possible for students to teach
technology. themselves and design their pace of learning according to
certain pace. Accordingly, teachers‟ roles have changed to
directors, facilitators, guides, helpers.

© 2016. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 242

 As Gail Jones (2002) put it, “The constructivist focus on Emerging mobile technologies and new applications
the social context and larger community of learners has facilitate communication, collaboration, sharing and learning
resulted in a major shift away from individually-based in settings unbounded by time and space. As to the definition
instruction to instruction that incorporates and embeds of M-learning, there are different interpretations towards what
teaching within the larger community of peers, younger M-learning is, depending on the different perspectives from
students, as well as those who are older.” Social constructivism which M-learning is viewed. Basically, we may sum up as the
and educational constructivism (including theories of learning follows:
and pedagogy) have had the greatest impact on instruction and
curriculum design because they seem to be the most conducive  M-learning is considered as a technological extension
to integration into current educational approaches. of E-learning originated in the 1980s and the CALL of
1990s. It is the result of the technological development;
"It is assumed that learners have to construct their own
knowledge—individually and collectively. Each learner has a  M-learning multiplied the diversified way or style of
tool kit of concepts and skills with which he or she must learning, enriching the connotation of regular
construct knowledge to solve problems presented by the classroom learning, offering a different perspective;
environment. The role of the community—other learners and  M-learning is techno-centered, which makes the
teacher—is to provide the setting, pose the challenges, and learning happen at any time or in any place.
offer the support that will encourage mathematical Accessibility becomes a convenient and timE-effective
construction." (Davis, Maher, Noddings, 1990, p. 3) (Quoted act;
from Gail Jones (2002))
 M-learning is learner-centered, which focuses on the
"Constructivism is not a theory about teaching…it is a separate needs of individual students. Learner-centered
theory about knowledge and learning… the theory defines activities can only be designed and implemented in
knowledge as temporary, developmental, socially and blended lecture of the virtual world. With the internet,
culturally mediated, and thus, nonobjective." (Brooks & the portable devices are wirelessly connected and create
Brooks, 1993, p. vii) “(Quoted from Gail Jones (2002)) a global community, and the social networking
Although Piaget's theories tended to focus primarily on the facilitates the interaction and experience sharing.
development of the individual while ignoring the greater socio-
cultural context, the roots of constructivism are clearly present IV. MOBILE DEVICES AND APPS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING
in Piaget's focus on the active role of the individual in learning:
We define applications, abbreviated to apps, as software
"… all knowledge is tied to action, and knowing an object or
programs for a computer or phone operating system.
an event is to use it by assimilating it to an action scheme…"
According to Wikipedia 1 , “A mobile app is a computer
Piaget, 1967, pp. 14-15).
program designed to run on mobile devices such as
From the above definitions of constructivism, we see the smartphones and tablet computers. Most such devices are sold
features of M-learning are suited to the theory, in which with several apps bundled as prE-installed software, such as a
students construct their language knowledge by self-controlled web browser, email client, calendar, mapping program, and an
automatic learning in the context. The flexibility, continuity, app for buying music or other media or more apps. Some prE-
and autonomy of M-learning all contribute to the knowledge installed apps can be removed by an ordinary uninstall process,
construction. thus leaving more storage space for desired ones. Where the
software does not allow this, some devices can be rooted to
III. WHAT IS M-LEARNING? eliminate the undesired apps.”
Efforts to develop MobilE-Assisted Language Learning In China, English as a required course is regarded as one of
(MALL) programs have been going on now for some years, the three most important courses along with Math and Chinese
based on hand-held technologies: MP3 players, MP4 player, language before college. In higher education, it becomes more
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), smartphones. The iPod and important because many universities connect the passage of
iPad offer audio playback and recording functions. The PDA, Band IV national English examination with the grant of
or palM-top computer, provides basic computer programming diploma. And diversified demands of furthering their studies
capability and access to the Internet. The smartphone cannot be fulfilled without proficient English. Thus numerous
technology has pushed the hand-held devices to the level of Apps for English learning have been commercially developed,
regular computer, only smaller in size. The capacity of which greatly facilitate and create a virtual world of language.
memory has amounted to over 100G, and installation of Moreover, other social networking software is also flexibly
software makes it convenient for language learners to develop used for language learning purpose. For example, the most
the basic language skills. popular social networking WeChat, with over 0.6 billion users
in China, is becoming an indispensable tool connecting
According to my observation and interviews with students, students and teachers. The sister companion software is QQ,
their attitude towards E-learning is affirmative. Students which is also developed by Tencent corporation. The latter can
overwhelmingly view the use of mobile technology very both be installed in smartphones as well as computers, which
favorably owing to its “anywhere, anytime” convenience. makes it more convenient to send and receive large files.
Positive student attitudes towards the use of mobile technology
have provided a major impetus to implement MALL. 1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_app

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According to a survey, over 90% and 70% college smartphone physical environments and networks. In this way the mobile
users have installed the software respectively. pedagogy provides the potential for the students to be plunged
in the environment of social context. It extends the physical
The following Apps are quite popular among language
space and learning hours, thereby students have better
learners in China: conditions to do the prE-class and post-class activities.
English Radio Classrooms may be „flipped‟, or blended, combining facE-to-
face learning with online distance learning.
BBC NEWS
In the class hours, the main task for the teacher is to check
YAHOO NEWS DIGEST and guide. Teachers may ask learners to record language
Voice Tube practice activities in class and use these recordings
collaboratively to help each other correct errors, and to
VOA 慢速英语 (VOA special English) research and reference grammar rules based on common
VOA 每日英语 (VOA everyday English) problem areas. In a way, the role of a teacher becomes less
important than that of the traditional classroom.
VOA 英语网 (VOA English Learning.)
In my ESP course of Chinese Printing, at the very
蜻蜓 FM (Qingtingfm, an APP of online radio station, beginning of a new semester, the students are required to form
http://www.qingting.fm/ ) eight groups (7-8 members each). For each teaching unit, all
the members of a given group will do the presentation, either
喜马拉雅 FM (ximalaya, an APP of online radio station, in PPT or play the recorded videos or conversation acting-out.
http://www.ximalaya.com) Through the collaboration, every student contrives to do
百词斩 (Baicizhan, an vocabulary learning app.) his/her best, because I grade each group a score as a whole. In
the presentation the cooperative efforts are clearly seen.
乐词 (Happy Word, an vocabulary learning app.) Compared with the teacher dominated class, all students feel
奇速英语 (Instant English) that they are the actors instead of audience. The devotion and
enthusiasm in their production of their videotaping assignment
疯狂闯关背单词 (Crazy Vocabulary Learning) give them a sense of accomplishment. The extracurricular
网易有道词典 (Youdao Dictionary, also translation software) preparation and learning lengthen their learning time,
developing their ability of organization and cooperation.
沪江听力酷 (Hujiang Foreign Language Listening)
Various activities are conducted according to different
英语流利说 (Fluent Spoken English) contents of each unit. But basically, I require the students to
the following thing:
……
Actually I can make the list much longer with ease. What is  Ask students to act out the conversations and the
relevant verbal parts by video recording and editing,
more important is that you can always find the right App for
language skills training: listening, speaking, reading, writing and post it on the public space of the class in WeChat
and translation. The online sources of material are totally free, or QQ for their peers to watch and comment.
like some of the free online MOOC courses.  Use the smartphone as a tape/video recorder to convert
Countless authentic materials and free download make it the written script into sound files, so that others can
valuable for foreign language learners. The downloaded offline identify the mispronunciations and improper
material can be replayed and reviewed again and again. What‟s intonations. The mutual evaluation and error correction
more important, free exchange of the learning material improve the ability of speaking, especially for those
constitutes a rich customized source of information. who dare not deliver a speech in the presence of class.

China witnessed an accelerating speed of smartphone sales Smartphones are becoming popular and the use of the
in the past decade. And in the future, the increase rate will mobile communication devices goes beyond the
become stable, because the affordability is no longer a problem, communication role. More than ever, smartphone serves as a
and fact is every college student has one smartphone, and it is mobile platform with easy accessibility to the internet. The
not rare that some of them have more than one, plus other technology of web 2.0 further promotes the smartphone to the
mobile devices. Another thing I need to point out is that the maximum. Almost all tasks done on the computer can be done
large screen smartphone accounts for a larger and larger on smartphones. In higher education of China, smartphones
market share, that tablet computing devices, Ipad, Ipod, PDA, have been widely used to store and retrieve information as E-
mp4 players etc. are seeing a gradual decline in sales market. books, video clips, all OFFICE files. Countless free English
learning apps are installed, which makes it a source of
information and training center. In China almost all
V. FEATURES OF MOBILE PEDAGOGY smartphones install the social network software WeChat and
Learning is mobile, situated, contingent, context-aware, QQ (by Tencent Corporation), which closely connect all its
and authentic. Learning happens both formally and informally, users and offers the largest platform for communication of
in and between classrooms, homes, transport and other spaces, daily affairs. In some university the teachers and students set
and in communities extending beyond learners‟ immediate up different groups for instant academic exchange. Teachers

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also use it to assign tasks, giving notices, and other study- claim that skills like vocabulary learning, listening, pag
related affairs. The social networking community like WeChat E-browsing are not limited to the length of time.
or QQ shortened the physical and spiritual distance between
teachers and students. Teachers are almost available at any  Ubiquity of mobile devices. Another reason that makes
time. Offline upload and storage make the material accessible MALL devices advantageous is that they are highly
to anybody in the group when logged in. accessible and there is a very widespread ownership of
certain mobile devices like smartphones, wireless
Free installation of E-dictionaries make the vocabulary laptops, and media players (ITU, 2009). Portability and
learning convenient, students learn the vocabulary with the widespread ownership concepts together correspond to
right pronunciation, synonym, antonym, origin in the right the ubiquity of MALL devices, which has been a useful
sentence examples. Whatever new words they consult, there is concept to define mobile learning and MALL.
a history of record, and the consulted words spontaneously go
to the NEW WORDS, which can be reviewed conveniently in  Affordability of mobile devices. Smartphones, first of
the later time. To make the vocabulary-learning interesting, the all, free learners from place and time limitations and
developers of the apps design the activity in the form of games, this is a highly motivating situation for the students.
recording your score and memory curves. Modern technology makes smartphones as powerful as
PCs. What‟s more, some of the smartphones can be as
Actually, you can search for some information regarding cheap as less than 100 yuan RMB (about US$16). More
your assignments, like the main points, and then you can sophisticated smartphones and free use of internet on
develop your ideas and use them at home. But plagiarism is campus connect students to the internet anytime and
strictly prohibited. There is plagiarism checker software to anywhere.
verify the originality of the written work. One student once
said, “I generally use my smartphone to take notes of whatever  Collaborative learning. Where learners work on a
I see on the board, or take photos of diagrams and PPT.” shared project on the same platform, and the learning
Students are encouraged to send their written paper through the outcomes build on their collective rather than
smartphone E-mailbox at any time, and online chatting individual efforts. In the course of their work, teachers
through WeChat or QQ are becoming a routine communication are ready to give them a hand at any time. In China,
between teacher and students. WeChat and QQ are two social networking platforms
people use the most, and students set up countless
groups for different purposes.
VI. BENEFITS OF M-LEARNING
As a supplement for the traditional education, M-learning  Accessibility of Apps. Easy access to the language
provides a new platform and broadens the regular perspective learning apps greatly facilitates the students. The
of learning. Cheung summarizes the benefits of M-learning as variety of apps for different language skill training
follows: brings great convenience to the study, and makes a
good balance of the five basic skills: listening, speaking,
“In brief, mobile learning transforms the learning process reading, writing, translation.
and changes the ways of learning, creates new opportunities
beyond the traditional classroom, offers flexibility and Various advantages and potential benefit of MALL and the
mobility in learning, expands learning experience in terms of use of mobile devices in foreign language learning have been
time and place, facilitates communications and interactions discussed. Despite the abundance of benefits of using MALL
among teachers, students and course administrators as well as as a supplementary learning material, there have also been
encourages the mode of collaborative learning” (Cheung 2012: claims about the drawbacks and difficulties of using MALL in
90). foreign language learning or learning in general.

Since its emergence as an extension of E-Learning at the VII. LIMITATIONS OF MOBILE DEVICES IN LANGUAGE
beginning of the 2000s, MALL (Mobile assisted language
CLASS
learning) devices and applications have been intensively
studied in many studies. Most of these studies have either Besides benefits, previous studies showed some limitations
supported or disclaimed the use of MALL as a learning as well.
material in educational settings.
 Distraction. While in a language class, learners need
For those studies which are in favor of the use of M- time and space to focus, think and learn without
learning as a necessary means, they maintain the following distractions. Language learning is a tedious and
points. painstaking work, and surfing the internet is thrilling
and exciting. Improper use of smartphone in class could
 Contingent learning and teaching. E-learning breaks the be various: playing games, reading novels, browsing
confinement of physical four-wall classrooms, and this webpages of news, watching online matches,
unique feature of mobile devices results in many other contacting with outsiders, etc. My usual way to control
advantages. For language learners, the small bits of the improper use of smartphone in class is to ask them
time can be well utilized compared with the learning of to turn off.
other subjects of science and engineering. Students
 Inconvenience. Some files cannot be well displayed
because of small screen, low resolution, inadequate

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 memory etc. And compatibility with computer software improving functionality of these devices and their pedagogical
is still a problem. Inconvenience can be regarded as the adaptability, MALL is bound to be a necessity to provide
cost of mobility. With the passage of time, technology support for foreign language instruction, for which language
could solve some of the problems, but large screen size teachers need to be preparing now
and portability seem to be contradictory.
 Improper psychological dependence. There are two ACKNOWLEDGMENT
sides to everything. Easy access to answer can This research is supported by the Science & Technology
discourage students‟ concentration and devotion. Some Research Common Program of Beijing Municipal Commission
students think smartphones offer a shortcut in language of Education (No. KM201510015011); the Discipline
learning, so they often take photographs of the lectures Construction and Postgraduate Education Program of Beijing
and store the information in the smartphones rather than Municipal Commission of Education (No. 21090116020); the
spend time to memorize them in the brain. In writing, Program for Science Development and Foreign Language
some students seem unable to finish their written work Education of Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences (No.
without using smartphone for consulting. GXSLXM-15-05); the Major Teaching & Reform Program of
Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (No.
VIII. CONCLUSION 22150115033).
This paper argues that mobile devices with enhanced
capabilities offer new learning possibilities and perspectives
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