Chinese postgraduate EFL learners’ self-directed use of mobile English learning resources

Abstract

Despite the increasing ownership of mobile devices among Chinese postgraduate EFL learners, relevant studies regarding mobile English learning resources (MELR) use by postgraduate learners are still lacking. This study tries to understand the uses and the motivation behind language learners´ selection of MALL resources. In this research, 95 Chinese postgraduate students from four university levels took part in a questionnaire, and eight of them in an interview. The results show that “passing exams” was the top reason for using MELR and expanding one’s English vocabulary was the aspect learners aimed to improve. The portability of mobile devices enabled learners to use MELR during short time intervals 1 , which suggests that MALL applications should target this behaviour. However, as a type of supplementary material, few students used MELR for more than one hour per day, and they were not regularly and actively involved in using MELR. Few learners were able to select suitable MELR to meet their current English learning needs, and they relied on recommendations from social media and authoritative education experts. Due to the importance of vocabulary, mobile dictionaries and vocabulary learning applications were the learners’ favourite type of MELR. As the participants suggested, enjoyment and interactivity were the two driving factors behind MELR selection and use. On the basis of Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME, Koole, M. (2009). A model for framing mobile learning. In M. Ally (Ed.), Mobile learning: Transforming the delivery of education and training. Athabasca: Athabasca University Press, 25–47) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM [Davis, F. D., (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. Management Information Systems, 13, 319–339]; TAM 2 [Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204]), a new theoretical model for better understanding the complex nature of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and the importance of learners in the self-directed, non-formal English language learning setting is proposed in this study.