Mobile-assisted second language learning: Speaking a second language with auditory stimuli

Abstract

Research on Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) has mostly focused on investigating the effectiveness and physical nature of mobile technology or the psychological conditions of learners. Studies of MALL that associate the fundamental principles of the human cognitive learning process is comparatively less common. Despite years of formal instruction, speaking a second language remains a challenge for beginner learners of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) in Malaysian International Schools. To help explain this, a framework of Mobile-Assisted Second Language Learning (MASLL) is developed to explain the cross-channel mental representation process in acquiring the speaking skills of a second language, using mobile phones. A total of 30 middle-year school learners from Malaysian International Schools underwent a quantitative, quasi-experimental pilot study. Learners with only the auditory stimuli outscored learners with the auditory-visual stimuli, with a mean difference of 4.87 in the gain scores. Whilst recognising the importance of auditory-visual stimuli during the learning phase, these findings highlight the importance of activating cross-channel mental representation during the interface and acquisition phases. A larger sample is needed to further validate these findings. Future studies on neuroscience, which localise the brainwave analysis, will be useful in providing visual explanation of the human cognitive processes and memory coding in acquiring the speaking skills of a second language.