A pedagogic assessment of mobile learning applications

Abstract

This paper provides an examination of both the qualities and limitations of the most salient MALL (Mobil Assisted Language Learning) applications available at the moment by assessing their features from a pedagogic point of view. Operating systems like Google’s open source Android, Apple’s iOS, and Microsoft’s Windows 7, are getting more sophisticated all the time and now have the potential to dramatically change ESL. These devices support individual and collaborative learning and are used by methodologists, linguistic engineers and technological enterprises to develop technology which assists students to learn anytime and anywhere. As a consequence, a large amount of applications for mobile phones, tablets and i-pod players are being employed in second language learning. These applications are the object of our analysis. The underlying motivation for our investigation is the fact that, although the multifarious stimuli from a variety of channels (sound, image, interaction, etc.) are certainly appealing to learners, mobile learning applications also require the thoughtful integration of second language pedagogy. The results here presented are the starting point for the development of MALL applications for EFL teaching/learning as part of the work carried out by linguists and IT engineers within the context of the SO-CALL-ME project in Spain.