Abstract
Mastering all the four language skills has been the topmost priority among both ESL and EFL learners all over the world. Apparently, speaking skills remains to be the most challenging among other skills in which many learners are still struggling to speak proficiently. Past studies suggest that Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) could be applied as a potential instructional approach in the pursuit of helping learners to gain speaking proficiency. However, there are limited reviews done on current studies which indicate the effectiveness of MALL for speaking particularly in ESL and EFL contexts. Hence, this paper sought to fulfill the gap by presenting a systematic review of relevant published studies done in MALL environments to enhance ESL and EFL learners’ speaking skills from the year 2016 to 2020. The findings of the review suggest that the application of MALL propagates the concepts of the constructivism theory, promotes stress-free environment, supports situated learning, and provides ease of use. Further analysis indicate that mobile devices’ general built-in features and mobile applications could be used as possible tools in helping learners to enhance their speaking skills in MALL environments. However, most of the reviewed studies’ focus on tertiary education has created a literature gap. Thus, there is a need to study the implementation of MALL in both primary and secondary schools so that it could be benefited by ESL and EFL learners of all ages particularly in developing speaking skills.
Highlights
The need to be proficient in all four English language skills has been given continuous emphasis and made as the topmost priority around the world due to the current demands of the 21st century skills
This study employs a mixed-method systematic review approach in which studies from different research traditions but focused on the same topic were combined to generate evidence to guide decision-making (Pearson et al, 2013). It is regarded as a process of conducting comprehensive analysis of two or more types of data and synthesised into a final and combined single primary synthesis being qualitative and quantitative (The Joanna Briggs Institute, 2014). This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to analyse and synthesise research articles on Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) for speaking among English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners between the years 2016 to 2020 and sythesise their findings to meet the proposed objectives: 1) to understand the pedagogical approaches offered by MALL in the teaching and learning of speaking skills among ESL and EFL learners and 2) to discover potential mobile device tools that could be used in enhancing speaking skills among ESL and EFL learners
The study is directed by two research questions and they are a) What are the pedagogical approaches offered by MALL in the teaching and learning of speaking skills among ESL and EFL learners? and b) What are the potential mobile device tools that could be used in enhancing speaking skills among ESL and EFL learners?
Summary
The need to be proficient in all four English language skills has been given continuous emphasis and made as the topmost priority around the world due to the current demands of the 21st century skills. Speaking skills are regarded significant for ESL and EFL learners’ future career path (Rao, 2019) as the inability to communicate in English is one of the main reasons for unemployment. For this reason, the mastery of speaking skills is made crucial for both ESL and EFL learners and there appears a need to review on suitable pedagogical methods, techniques and approaches which could elucidate educators on how the teaching and learning of speaking could be made fruitful
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