Page 19 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 19
Background to LanGuide Language-Learning Framework
dividualism (e.g. Laskova, 2021; Bower, 2019), thus teaching profession-
als should gear their pedagogy to promoting intrinsic motivation, agency,
self-direction, self-regulation and the principles of life-long learning. Such
developments are predicated also on the basis of recent practices, advanced
and exploited in the virtual learning environments during the pandemic,
in which educators strove to balance and encourage sustainable and inde-
pendent learning models. In view of the widespread use of smartphones all
over the world (Silver et al., 2019), mobile learning is bound to have a ma-
jor role in language learning evolution, since it can increasingly offer new
options for integrating real-life communication with learning incentives
by its multifaceted affordances.
However, a number of researchers still point out to a disconnect between
the world of education and the mobile technology, which learners inter-
act with mostly beyond the classrooms and lecture halls (e.g. Walsh, 2010;
Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2015; Jie et al., 2020), thus failing to integrate into
the learning process an important source of learner’s motivation. Further-
more, research identifies as a problem the lack of new pedagogical frame-
works that could guide educational endeavours for integration of mLearn-
ing into the curricula (e.g. Sharples, 2006; Bernacki et al., 2020). From re-
cent research into mobile pedagogy, it has also become clear that education
in the mobile age cannot replace formal education; rather it can offer a way
to extend, support and scaffold learning inside and outside the classroom
(Mutiaraningrum & Nugroh, 2021).
Moreover, studies evidence an important paradigm shift between the
traditional educational systems and mLearning. Namely, the primary goal
of the traditional educational system was effective transmission of can-
nons of scholarship in a formal educational setting, while the construction
of knowledge in a mobile era occurs as information processing in the in-
teraction through and with personal and mobile technology in a range of
environments (Sharples, 2006).
In terms of language acquisition, the traditional, well-paced acquisition
process requires persistence and stamina, since a ‘drip-feed approach [. . .]
often leads to frustration as learners feel they have been studying for years
without making much progress’ (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 186). On
the other hand, mobile assisted language learning (henceforth m all) and
mLearning¹ give students the opportunity to engage with language dur-
¹ mLearning refers to affordances of language tuition supplemented by informal learning on
smartphones, whereas ma l l (mobile-assisted language learning) – a subfield of mLearn-
19
dividualism (e.g. Laskova, 2021; Bower, 2019), thus teaching profession-
als should gear their pedagogy to promoting intrinsic motivation, agency,
self-direction, self-regulation and the principles of life-long learning. Such
developments are predicated also on the basis of recent practices, advanced
and exploited in the virtual learning environments during the pandemic,
in which educators strove to balance and encourage sustainable and inde-
pendent learning models. In view of the widespread use of smartphones all
over the world (Silver et al., 2019), mobile learning is bound to have a ma-
jor role in language learning evolution, since it can increasingly offer new
options for integrating real-life communication with learning incentives
by its multifaceted affordances.
However, a number of researchers still point out to a disconnect between
the world of education and the mobile technology, which learners inter-
act with mostly beyond the classrooms and lecture halls (e.g. Walsh, 2010;
Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2015; Jie et al., 2020), thus failing to integrate into
the learning process an important source of learner’s motivation. Further-
more, research identifies as a problem the lack of new pedagogical frame-
works that could guide educational endeavours for integration of mLearn-
ing into the curricula (e.g. Sharples, 2006; Bernacki et al., 2020). From re-
cent research into mobile pedagogy, it has also become clear that education
in the mobile age cannot replace formal education; rather it can offer a way
to extend, support and scaffold learning inside and outside the classroom
(Mutiaraningrum & Nugroh, 2021).
Moreover, studies evidence an important paradigm shift between the
traditional educational systems and mLearning. Namely, the primary goal
of the traditional educational system was effective transmission of can-
nons of scholarship in a formal educational setting, while the construction
of knowledge in a mobile era occurs as information processing in the in-
teraction through and with personal and mobile technology in a range of
environments (Sharples, 2006).
In terms of language acquisition, the traditional, well-paced acquisition
process requires persistence and stamina, since a ‘drip-feed approach [. . .]
often leads to frustration as learners feel they have been studying for years
without making much progress’ (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 186). On
the other hand, mobile assisted language learning (henceforth m all) and
mLearning¹ give students the opportunity to engage with language dur-
¹ mLearning refers to affordances of language tuition supplemented by informal learning on
smartphones, whereas ma l l (mobile-assisted language learning) – a subfield of mLearn-
19
