Is mobile-assisted language learning really useful? An examination of recall automatization and learner autonomy

The aim of this study is to examine the advantages of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), especially vocabulary learning of English as a foreign or second language (L2) in terms of the two strands: automatization and learner autonomy. Previous studies articulate that technology-enhanced L2 learning could bring about some positive effects. The use of technological functions in a mobile device, for example, might activate learning processes, resulting in the easier recall of the target vocabulary. In addition to this, mobile-assisted L2 learning could also facilitate learners’ agency or autonomous learning in that successful MALL should rely largely on the agency (Pachler, Bachmair, & Cook, 2010) as an autonomous learner. While engaging in L2 learning with mobile devices, L2 learners should be expected to be autonomous agents not only by receiving knowledge and messages from peers and teachers but also by responding to them. These processes differ from those such as passively listening to the teacher and receiving knowledge from the teacher. From this standpoint, empirical and questionnaire studies are conducted to verify that MALL could enhance the recall of the target phrases for L2 writing and also learners’ autonomy, in comparison with paper-based vocabulary learning.