MALL And Development Of Chinese EFL Learners’ Autonomy

This thesis investigates the extent to which mobile devices were employed into Englishlanguage learning by research participants, and potential advantages of mobile devices infacilitating English language learning in Chinese contexts and the development of learnerautonomy of Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. It also discusses therelationship of learner involvement, English language use and learner reflections promoted bymobile devices to participants’ English writing achievement which may indicate learners’English language proficiency. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were employed inthe present research. Fifty-seven Chinese first-year non-English major master students,enrolled at a university in the north of China, participated in the research by taking a writingtest, followed by a questionnaire related to mobile-mediated English language learning on thefrequencies at which participants had employed mobile devices into their learning. Fivehighly successful and five unsuccessful test-takers of these participants were chosen forinterviews on their perceptions of mobile-mediated English language learning. The resultsillustrated that1) mobile devices were not widely and frequently employed into Englishlanguage learning by participants;2) learner involvement and English language use facilitatedby mobile devices did not have linearity with writing achievement, while learner reflectionshad correlation to writing achievement, yet not significantly;3) mobile devices could beeffective to facilitate the development of learner autonomy of Chinese EFL learners. It leadsto the discussion of teaching implications in Chinese contexts and limitations.