ELT Students' Perceptions Toward Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL): Exploring its Effects on Motivation and Learner Autonomy

The current study investigated ELT students’ perceptions toward Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and how MALL affects learners’ level of motivation and autonomy. 110 students who were enrolled in an English Language Teaching program at a university participated in the study. The study adopted a mixed-method design in which data were collected through an online questionnaire and written interview questions. Descriptive statistics were used to get the overall picture of the learners’ perceptions of MALL. ANOVA was conducted to see if there were any significant differences among the four grades of ELT students, and a chi-square test was implemented to compare the autonomy and motivation levels of students who claim to use mobile applications for language learning with those who claim they do not. The written interview questions were examined using content analysis method. Results of the study indicated that students generally had positive opinions about using mobile applications for language learning purposes. Another interesting finding of the study was that 1st-grade ELT students had more negative perceptions toward MALL compared to the perceptions of other grades. Finally, there were statistically no significant differences in terms of learner autonomy and motivation between the students who use mobile language learning applications and those who do not.