Abstract
With the progression of various mobile technologies, mobile applications have tremendously increased, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and such applications have been exploited much in teaching and learning. This study explores the educational potential of using mobile applications in English language teaching (ELT) or Mobile Assisted Language Teaching (MALT). A critical review of the research in mobile applications in English language teaching is explored in this study, specifically from the published papers since 2015. Initially 131 articles were selected from ScienceDirect, SAGE, IEEEXplore, and Google Scholar. However, only 13 articles matched the inclusion criteria. These articles were analyzed and reviewed using the following categories: the role of mobile technology, pedagogical practices, research methodologies, the context of usage, and outcomes. The research found that mobile technologies in teaching language are increasing, and it is expected to rise in the future. In addition, teachers use different technologies to enhance English language teaching in the settings of inside and outside classrooms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have closed indefinitely. This unexpected situation has forced students to stay at home, and online learning seems to grow exponentially. Thus, through this research review, significant educational outcomes are identified for future investigation practices.
Highlights
Mobile technologies perform essential functions in most aspects of our daily life, offering usability, portability, and mobility
Fours research papers (31%) found out that mobile technologies are used to improve second language proficiency skills, while 1 article (8%) found out that these technologies are used for peer and self-assessment of English language proficiency
13 original articles on the research topic were detected. These articles highlighted roles that mobile-assisted learning technology play using the application for English language teaching (Kukulska-Hulme et al, 2017)
Summary
Mobile technologies perform essential functions in most aspects of our daily life, offering usability, portability, and mobility. Users favour smaller devices with touch screen interfaces to traditional computers (Persson & Nouri, 2018). Such preference affects many sectors of society, especially education. Last 10 years, users have witnessed rapid development in mobile technology (Zou & Li, 2015). All-purpose daily-task computing services have been facilitated by mobile phone technology in various fields like commercial and non-commercial sectors. Because of lower prices than personal computers, portability, and mobility, mobile technologies have penetrated almost every aspect of people’s daily lives. Mobile technology use in education facilitates teaching and learning, especially in foreign language teaching (Aziz et al, 2018). Tablet computer is becoming a more accessible way of utilizing mobile computing, and like smartphones, tablets are available on 3G and 4G networks
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