MALL / Mobile-Assisted Language Learning 

      Hi, guys. I am back. Today, I am going to speak about MALL. No, you got me wrong. I am not going to speak about shopping center or plaza. I am going to speak about mobile devices. Yeah, yeah, I know. Now you will ask me how MALL is connected with mobile devices. To figure this out, let me, first of all, decode what acronym MALL is. MALL is mobile- assisted language learning.  So, has anything cleared up? Now, you will ask, how these mobile devices can be used for teaching and learning purposes. Slow Down. Don’t make me rush and let me put everything in its place.

     MALL or mobile-assisted language learning is the approach to language learning that is assisted or carried out through portable mobile devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, iPhones, and IPads to increase students’ easy access to learning materials and improve their communication skills. Years ago the first thing associated with mobile devices, for instance, mobile phones, was the opportunity to call and connect and no one could imagine using this device beyond calling. However, nowadays the term” mobile phone” has almost lost its initial meaning and purpose, because today people do not only use mobile phones for calling ,but for other purposes. Day by day mobile phones are supported by a wide variety of other services and that’s the reason why people so often tend to change their mobile devices -to keep up with the growing technology. Yesterday’s services like text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming, and photography cannot surprise anybody. Today people seek to get more opportunities which they cannot get only through mobile phones. Thus, they look for better opportunities which can provide them with even more general computing capabilities. The solution to this issue was found in creating smartphones that offer huge computing opportunities and consequently can become helpful and useful in language learning. The question is how? How this tiny device can be helpful in language learning. Unbelievable, right? However, the usage and implication of mobile devices in language learning has been proved and put into practice in EFL classrooms.

       Mobile devices offer a number of opportunities to use various applications for listening to podcasts, radio, audiobooks , for reading news, making photos and sharing them via social networks or simply communicating with your friends and peers on Twitter, Facebook and so forth, facilitating authentic and relevant communication and collaboration among learners.

     Everything is clear, but the main question remains open. How can mobile devices be used in the language learning?

      Mobile devices are supported by a number of features. One of them is taking notes allowing students to take notes on the English when they are reading or listening to reports, lectures and so forth. Students may also use the camera feature to take pictures of the text or home assignments. This latter is quite widespread in our class. What do we do? We take pictures of our home assignments from the slideshow and then post it to our Facebook page so that everyone could know our next class assignment. Mobile devices can be a useful tool to keep blogs where students may write about their in-class experiences, reflections, post pictures and videos. In this case teacher may read the blogs and provide feedback. These devices can be also used for microblogging, where teacher may assign students to report on their daily activities. Both blogging and microblogging help to develop students’ writing skills as well as reading skills, because students are reading each other’s blogs and leave their comments.  In order to improve students’ speaking skills, researchers advice to use mobile devices in phlogging. Interesting term, right? Sounds like blogging, however, this is kind of different. Phlogging entails calling a number and leaving a message on a website. What I like about mobile devices is that they allow you to play games, such as crossword puzzles and scrabble which help to enhance vocabulary knowledge and develop critical thinking. Finally, mobile devices allow us to stay connected with the whole world, our friends, to post messages /statuses and share pictures via social networking, like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace. Thus, the main purpose of mobile devices is to put acquired information to immediate use.

    This is really good that mobile devices have so many advantages, however, in our life everything is two-sided which means I cannot not to mention about the problems connected with mobile devices and their usage in classroom.  First of all, in order to be able to use mobile devices, teacher needs to make sure that all of the students have access to the phones that have the capabilities the students need. Secondly, teacher also needs to make sure that using mobile devices or phones is a learning tool and not on the contrary. Generally, mobile devices can bring noise and disruption in class. Mobile devices can be distractful, because students may play games during class, chat with their friends via social websites and consequently may lose the sense of the lesson.

 P. S. 

      I do really appreciate mobile devices and the opportunities they offer. It is really convenient when you keep the whole world in that tiny device called mobile phone or smartphone and can get use of it wherever and whenever you want to.  However, as a teacher I would not prefer using mobile devices for above-listed learning purposes. I am inclined towards the opinion that we may use mobile devices as an entertainment tool. I do agree that we learn via these devices, but this learning cannot be applicable for language learning. We want to make learning easy, funny, effectively, but mobile devices are not the right way for implementing them in language learning. This is really good that we are trying to find a way to make language learning easier and effectively accessible for students. I think that mobile phones can be used as a supplement to language learning, but not on the constant use. We try to align too many things, but we forget that language learning is learning, whereas mobile devices are just an entertainment. My advice as a teacher to all of the teachers: new technologies can be useful for teaching and learning purposes, but be wise while choosing the tool you would like to use with your students, because not all of them can be applicable.