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Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as learning that occurs any time and any place via mobile technology

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

MALL is a teaching method that uses mobile phone technology to stress learner centeredness and autonomy. The article defines mobile learning, citing O'Malley et al. (2003), as "any kind of learning that takes place when the learner is not in a fixed state" and, citing Geddes (2004), as learning "which takes place at any time and in any place," extending teaching beyond classroom walls. A key feature is that students feel responsible for their own learning. The study operationalises MALL through SMS delivery of vocabulary items.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Learners must have access to mobile phone technology capable of receiving SMS messages

Constraints

  • The study used mobile learning in a nonreciprocal way, with materials pushed to learners rather than exchanged

Target Learners

  • university freshmen learning English as a foreign language

Learning Goals

  • academic vocabulary learning and long-term retention

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • Minoo Alemi, Mohammad Reza Anani Sarab & Zahra Lari. (2012). Successful Learning of Academic Word List via MALL: Mobile Assisted Language Learning. International Education Studies, 5(6). https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n6p99
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id mall-mobile-assisted-language-learning-definition
title Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as learning that occurs any time and any place via mobile technology
description MALL is a teaching method that uses mobile phone technology to stress learner centeredness and autonomy.
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — minoo-alemi-2012

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