Abstract

Technology-mediated learning has become a valuable tool, especially in the English language classroom. Nowadays, mobile learning is considered a significant educational tool for promoting education among learners. Several recent studies have attempted to examine different aspects of mobile learning. The size of the experimental group, and the duration and suitability of the assessment methods are important aspects in designing experimental studies in the context of mobile English language learning. Yet, very few studies have paid attention to these aspects. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the utilisation of state-of-the-art mobile technology in English language learning, especially in terms of the size of the experimental groups, and the duration and suitability of the assessment methods. Following a systematic review protocol, 151 articles published between 2010 and 2017 were selected for analysis. Furthermore, this study considered, separately, three factors addressed in the reviewed studies: language acquisition problems, types of participants, and targeted English skills. The findings showed that the group size and study duration significantly differed among the studies based on the above factors. Questionnaires and tests were found to be the most common methods of assessment for each factor, whether used separately or in combination. The results of this review can assist in the formulation of experimental designs to mitigate the challenges and facilitate the effective use of mobile learning in English language learning.

摘要

以技术为媒介的学习已成为一种有价值的工具，尤其是在英语课堂上。如今，移动学习被认为是促进学习者教育的重要教育工具。最近的几项研究试图检验移动学习的不同方面。实验组的规模、评估方法的持续时间和适用性是在移动英语语言学习背景下设计实验研究的重要方面。然而，很少有研究关注这些方面。因此，本研究旨在调查最先进的移动技术在英语学习中的应用，尤其是在实验组的规模以及评估方法的持续时间和适用性方面。遵循系统审查协议，选择了 2010 年至 2017 年间发表的 151 篇文章进行分析。此外，本研究分别考虑了审查研究中涉及的三个因素：语言习得问题、参与者类型和目标英语技能。研究结果表明，基于上述因素，各研究的小组规模和研究持续时间存在显着差异。调查问卷和测试被发现是每个因素最常用的评估方法，无论是单独使用还是组合使用。本次审查的结果可以帮助制定实验设计，以减轻挑战并促进移动学习在英语学习中的有效使用。