Abstract
<span class="TextRun SCXW153678227" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">The use of mobile devices for language learning, under the Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) has been found to motivate children to read digital print. However, parents need to be convinced of the benefits of this new technology-assisted learning method within a multilingual learning context. A case study was conducted to propose a MALL framework in which educators and parents created a shared meaningful learning environment to develop the children’s emergent multilingual literacy skills, using mobile devices installed with interactive multilingual </span><span class="TextRun SCXW153678227" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">eB</span><span class="TextRun SCXW153678227" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">ooks. This paper reports the findings, specifically on the parents’ attitude and motivation towards reading multilingual </span><span class="TextRun SCXW153678227" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">eBooks</span><span class="TextRun SCXW153678227" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"> with their children. A group of 25 multi-ethnic families, together with their 5-year-old children participated in this study. A mixed-method explanatory research design obtained parent's attitude and motivation from a questionnaire, interview, and feedback form. The results show a high level of parents’ acceptance toward reading eBook with their children. Parents attributed their positive attitude and motivation towards MALL to the use of the multimedia, multilingual, and mobile platform. The MALL framework was also found to encourage parents and other adults to scaffold the children’s multilingual skills development. However, there were also setbacks toward the use of eBook as some parents expressed a stronger preference for printed books and were concerned with health issues associated with the children’s eBook use. Areas for improvements and future research are also made in this paper.</span>
Highlights
Research evidence has established positive links between home literacy practices and children’s language and literacy skills [1] [2]
There are challenges that Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) has yet to answer in terms of (1) parent acceptance of the emergent literacy app and tablets within home context, (2) use of multimedia in emergent literacy app, and (3) a framework that forms a partnership between schools and homes to develop early emergent multilingual literacy skills
This paper presents evidence for the value of MALL with multilingual eBooks reading as a means to motivate adults in developing young children’s early emergent multilingual literacy
Summary
Research evidence has established positive links between home literacy practices and children’s language and literacy skills [1] [2]. Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) that places emphasis on the mobility of learning appears to be an ideal model to form a link between schools and homes, making the development of children’s emergent multilingual literacy skills a joint effort. As the impact of tablets on early emergent literacy is not yet fully known, two important considerations are the quality of emergent literacy apps and the importance of scaffolding young children’s use of tablet at home and preschool to support emergent literacy development [7]. There are challenges that MALL has yet to answer in terms of (1) parent acceptance of the emergent literacy app and tablets within home context, (2) use of multimedia in emergent literacy app, and (3) a framework that forms a partnership between schools and homes to develop early emergent multilingual literacy skills
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