Binbin Zhu:Motivation in the MALL: Exploring the Experience of Chinese Oversea University Students
Channel: GIRES-Global Research Institute
Date: 20/05/2021

Binbin Zhu, is a Ph.D. candidate in the final year of the doctoral study in the Faculty of Language and Communication at Technical University of Berlin. The research interest includes digital learning, mobile assisted language learning (MALL), computer assisted language learning (CALL), and motivational emotions during foreign language learning. The master degree was obtained from University of Bristol with the subject of Education, Technology and Society.

ABSTRACT 
A study of the experience of Chinese oversea university students of how Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) affects their motivation to learn foreign languages and their learning emotions
Abstract: It is generally believed that international students have more difficulty than host nationals in dealing with a wide range of academic and social situations. The common challenges reported by students studying abroad encompassed the themes of language. Learning a new language is difficult for many people, especially students, who study abroad and are dependent on language to find their way around. If asked to identify the most significant influence on language learning, motivation would probably be high on most teachers’ and learner’s lists. Language teachers constantly use the term ‘motivation’ when they describe successful or unsuccessful learners. However, there is no doubt that motivation is the most complex and challenging issue faced by language learners, especially in such a digital age. A significant number of recent studies have been done on investigating the effectiveness of computer-assisted language learning environments, and the literature on psychology in language learning is very considerable. Relatively little work has been conducted about the psychological factor within a mobile-based environment. Furthermore, few studies have explicitly focused on international students’ perceptions upon their use of mobile devices in motivating their foreign language learning. This dissertation is intended as an investigation of Chinese oversea university students’ experience in Germany of using the MALL applications in motivating their foreign language learning, also as identification of the motivational emotions experienced by these students during language learning activities and the sources of these emotions. Different theories of learning motivation and affective learning involvement are taken into account to explain foreign language learning motivation in the mobile environment.

CONFERENCE INFORMATION
"Education, Technology & Culture in Crisis: Secondary & Higher Education in a Time of Virtual Instruction"
Organizer: GIRES-Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship  
Date: 15-16 May 2021
Place: Amsterdam (Virtual)
More information: https://www.gires.org/activities/conferences/education-technology-culture-crisis-secondary-higher-education-virtual-instruction/