The Application and Effective Use of MABL (Mobile-Assisted Blended Learning) in University English Classes

Mobile and blended learning allow learners to overcome the limits of time and space, enabling them to learn anytime, anywhere. However, they appear not to be used appropriately for teaching and learning in English language classes. This study explores the current situation and students’ perspectives and preferences of using mobile learning, blended learning and Mobile-Assisted Blended Learning (MABL) in Korea. The subjects for the study are 157 university students who have experiences of using mobile apps. Data collection instruments include the questionnaire and interview. The major findings were as follows. First, 48.1, 52.9, and 21.5 percent of the students have used mobile apps, SNS, and blended learning to learn English. Second, most of the students had positive perspectives of using MABL for English education. The students were satisfied with MABL activities (89.1%) and its quality (90.3%), and thought it useful (88.4%) and effective (90.4%) in learning English. Third, the students preferred student-teacher interaction over student-app and student-student interactions for MABL interaction. A proper model and some solutions for MABL are recommended. More surveys from different regions and the true experiment using MABL with the larger sample size of the students are suggested for further research.