New Horizons In MALL Pedagogy: Exploring Tertiary EFL Teachers' Beliefs And Practices In The Hinterland Of The People's Republic Of China

With the rapid development of Mobile Information and Communications Technology(MICT)in the new millennium,tertiary English Language Teaching(ELT)in the People's Republic of China is confronted with both challenges and opportunities.Based on the results of a pilot study,a growing number of teachers have set out to challenge predominant ELT methods and made efforts to implement a hybrid ELT curriculum with Mobile-assisted Language Learning(MALL).According to literature review,language teachers' beliefs play a critical role in making decisions about how to conduct MALL for ELT,but there is inconsistency between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices when they incorporate emerging MICT resources,such as MALL technology,into their teaching routines.Although extensive research has been carried out on teachers' beliefs and practices,little has been done to categorize tertiary English as a Foreign Language(EFL)teachers' beliefs and investigate their pedagogy situated in a MALL context.This study attempts to identify tertiary EFL teachers' beliefs about MALL for ELT in China's hinterland,and to examine their use of MICT,represented by social networking services(SNS),as supplemental tools during the implementation of MALL pedagogy within and beyond classrooms.In light of the exploratory and social orientation of this study,a mixed research design—Q sorting and case study research—is employed,focusing on both qualitative and quantitative analysis of teachers' beliefs and practices regarding MALL pedagogy for tertiary ELT in central China's Shanxi Province.Q sorting is conducted in the first phase of the study,with 37 EFL teachers from four universities in Shanxi,to elicit tertiary teachers' beliefs regarding MALL for ELT,in terms of English linguistic theories,EFL pedagogy,curriculum content,teacher-student roles,MICT for education,and teaching as a profession.In the second phase,based on the Q sort data analysis,three teachers are investigated in-depth to understand how their beliefs are constructed and their practices innovated when incorporating MALL in ELT,and how they reconcile conflicting factors between their beliefs and practices.Findings from the analysis of Q sorts and follow-up interview data reveal four characteristic categories of tertiary EFL teachers: 1)Limited-MALL-minded studentcentered decision makers;2)MALL facilitators not proficient in MICT integration;3)Mildly MALL-oriented reflective practitioners;and 4)Knowledge processors cautious about MALL.Teachers in Shanxi generally hold an intermediate orientation to MALL for ELT and possess a relatively limited scope on MICT integration,especially the application of SNS,resulting in somewhat neutral or conservative beliefs and practices.Findings from the case study analysis suggest that access to a communicative MALL environment,adaptation to complex student and administrative demands,and the use of pedagogical strategies to access information and knowledge with MALL technology,all play a critical role in the ability of teachers to achieve new tertiary ELT horizons.On this basis,a pedagogical framework is constructed to provide a theoretical model of MALL pedagogy for ELT that could help other teachers in China's tertiary education system reach new horizons.The theoretical contribution of this study lies mainly in proposing a model of MALL pedagogy for ELT,informed by Q sorting and strengthened by multiple-case studies exploring teachers' pedagogical practices in different settings.It is argued that the design and implementation of MALL pedagogy for ELT based on teachers' personal theories,MICT affordances,English language dynamics,and learner mobilities,is an ongoing and cyclical process occurring in and beyond the classroom.Causative factors from pedagogical,technological,and content aspects of teaching work collaboratively to form and modify teachers' beliefs and practices during all stages of instruction,from planning and inquiry to practice and reflection.The framework proposed in this study could enhance teacher comprehension of MICT potential represented by SNS,which could improve its incorporation into MALL pedagogy for ELT,and place greater emphasis on the exploration of educational features of MICT,rather than the application of MICT for pedagogical uses.The study also offers pedagogical implications for tertiary EFL teachers,learning experiences for ‘mobile' students,and empirical data for curriculum design and online/offline classroom administrations.Moreover,the study makes a contribution to greater methodological pluralism in foreign language education studies by detailing the use of Q sorting in combination with case study research,and proves that such an exploratory mixed-method design,can be successfully applied to research questions about MALL studies.