The Effects of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Korean College Students’ English-Listening Performance and English-Listening Anxiety

Despite the increasing significance of mobile technology in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning, most empirical studies to date have been restricted to vocabulary acquisition, grammar learning, and speaking/writing development. However, the present study focuses its attention on changes in Korean college students' listening performance by making use of diverse mobile applications. In addition, this paper distinctively examines how these students' anxiety levels in English listening may differ after implementing mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). Ten Korean college students preparing for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) participated in this mixed-method study. A background questionnaire, a sample TOEFL listening test, and an anxiety-level questionnaire were distributed to them as a starting point. During a 6-week treatment period, the control group continued using traditional learning materials (i.e., textbooks and MP3 files), whereas the experimental group adopted MALL. Then, once again each student took the TOEFL listening test and filled out the anxiety-level questionnaire-both were similar to the pretests. As a last step, the researcher interviewed the participants individually. The research findings show that the experimental group somewhat enhanced TOEFL listening comprehension, while the control group remained almost the same. The influence of MALL stands out with respect to the participants' English-listening anxiety: only the score of the experimental group was lowered. The last significant conclusion was that, regardless of the group, students' English-listening performance was negatively correlated with their English-listening anxiety both in pretest and in posttest. The results from this study could offer a venue for instructors who teach English listening within EFL contexts.