TIRF's panel presentation on mobile-assisted language learning at the 2014 TESOL Convention in Portland, Oregon. Panel presenters, Dr. Phil Hubbard, Stanford University, with Trustees Lorraine de Matos, Michael Carrier, Richard Boyum, and Marti Estell, the US State Department's Observer to the Board, discussed that a paradigm shift is well underway regarding the landscape of ELT and the impact of MALL.

2. TIRF
The International
Research Foundation
for English Language Education
Visit TIRF’s website at
http://www.tirfonline.org

3. Mobile Learning:
A Paradigm Shift
in
Democratizing Learning Access
TESOL International Convention
Portland, OR
2014

4. Presenters
Philip Hubbard, Senior Lecturer and Director of English for
Foreign Students, Stanford University Language Center
Michael Carrier, Director of Strategic Partnerships for
Cambridge English, a division of University of Cambridge.
Lorraine de Matos, General Manager of the Cultura
Inglesa, São Paulo, Brazil,
Marti Estell, Director of English Language Programs at the
US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs
Richard Boyum, Department of State University
Partnership Coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan

5. TIRF
Overview of the Six
Commissioned Papers
On Mobile Language Learning
Phil Hubbard, Stanford University
TESOL 2014

6. Beatty: Beyond the Classroom
 Notes mobile learning is becoming
unrelated to classroom learning
 Learners may use tools instead of learning
languages (augmented reality)
 Link MALL to situated learning

7. Beatty: Beyond the Classroom
 Identifies key issues
– Learners
– Teachers
– Policymakers
– Employers
 Teacher development
 Workforce applications

8. Hockly: Designer Learning
 Key point: Teachers as effective
designers of mobile learning experiences
 Action research: implementing mobile
communicative tasks for EFL (two weeks)
 Six parameters: hardware, mobility,
technological complexity, linguistic/
communicative competence, type of MALL,
& educational/learning context

9. Hockly: Designer Learning
 Pegrum’s 4 MALL types: content, tutorial,
creation, communication
 Issues of concern for study: small scale,
multilingual context, low proficiency, ad-hoc
nature
 Future: Keep the 6 parameters in mind plus
teachers’ TPACK (Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge)

10. Kukulska-Hulme: Reskilling Learners
 Key point: Learners need new skills
for mobile language learning
 Need to make connections between life
and learning
 Need to focus on learners’ personal
interests for content and communication
 Little research on mobile learners’
strategies and learning styles

11. Kukulska-Hulme: Reskilling Learners
 Different groups have different
opportunities & challenges
 Models: specified-activity, proposed-
activity, & learner-driven
 Need studies on a wider variety of learners
and especially on advanced learners

12. Stockwell & Hubbard: Principles
 3 MALL issues and 10 emerging
principles for design and practice
 Physical issues
 Pedagogical issues
 Psycho-social issues
 Draw principles from CALL, ML & MALL

13. Stockwell & Hubbard: Principles
 Example Principles
– P2 Limit multi-tasking & distractions
– P3 Push but respect boundaries
– P5 Acknowledge learner differences
– P6 Be aware of learner cultures-of-use
– P9 Provide guidance and learner training

14. Sweeney: Evidence for Benefits
 MALL for English in the workplace
 Looking for evidence of differential
benefits of MALL
 Method: Structured interviews of 7
practitioners across 10 classes
 Reasons for MALL: efficiency, relevance,
teacher motivation, student expectations, &
commercial imperatives

15. Sweeney: Evidence for Benefits
 Some key findings for learners
– Limits of ‘digital natives’; benefits of training
– Impact of culture and context on self-access
– Laptops as mobile devices
 Some key findings for teachers
– Tasks appropriate for content, context, & skills
– Teachers as mobile users
– Transformation of pedagogic context

16. Traxler: Past Speaks to the Future
 Mobile technology characteristics
– Delivery mechanism with unexploited
affordances
– Modifier of learning: outsourced cognition
– Determinant of linguistic practices & discourse
 ML categories: reaching out, enriching,
learning from one another, role of theory,
motivating, & just-in-case vs. just-in-time

17. Traxler: Past Speaks to the Future
 Challenges: scaling up, sustaining,
embedding, and providing evidence
 Transformations
– Space, place, identity & community
– Social practices
– Knowing & learning
– Language & discourse

18. Conclusion
 Final comments
 Go to http://www.tirfonline.org/english-in-the-
workforce/mobile-assisted-language-
learning/ (or just Google TIRF MALL)
 Note also the Language Learning &
Technology special issue on MALL:
http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2013/
Email: phubbard@stanford.edu

19. TIRF
Mobile-Assisted & 1:1
Language Learning
Michael Carrier
Cambridge English Language Assessment
TESOL Portland 2014

20. What are MALL & 1:1?
MALL:
Use of portable devices to give learners access to learning
materials, learning activities and assessment
•In class = tablets, laptops
•Out of class = phones, tablets
1:1 movement:
•commitment to providing every learner with her own device
for use in and out of class
•new classroom management approach using 1:1 in
communicative and collaborative pedagogical models

21. Equity and access
All learners should have access to knowledge and education; for this we
need Devices and Connectivity and a commitment to OERs
Devices:
•Device provided by school
•BYOD – shared in groupwork
•Developing world – need donor involvement
Connectivity:
•3G – 5G
•Fibre to the school
•WiMAX
•Satellite

22. Technology-supported: learners at the centre
Face-to-face
classroom
eTutors
VOIP & FaceTime
Learning
device
LMS as hub
Blended
learning
Big Data: Tracking &
Portfolio
The
LearnerIndividualised
pathways
Social learning
Handheld learning
On-demand content
Cloud synchronisation
Adaptive learning
Speech recognition
& AI tools
Learning – oriented
assessment

23. New pedagogical models
Less formal learning Formal learning
Communicative
content creation
Teacher-led
(inc. remote)
Self-directed digital 1:1 device groups
Group-
oriented
Self-
study
Alignment of needs and technologies:

24. New classroom models

25. In-class vs Out-of-class model
Before Class In Class After Class
Activities:
• Writing
• Comprehension
questions
• Online workbook
• Practise vocab
with Apps
• Formative
assessment
Activities:
• Reading &
Listening activities
• Study text
• Learn vocab
online
• Grammar in Use
activity with Apps
Activities:
• Speaking
activities
• Pairwork
• Concept
questions
• Communication
activities, games
storytelling
• Mentoring

26. 1:1 & language learning
• Access to anytime anywhere
learning
• Access to authentic models of
English
• Develop new forms of
communicative pairwork activity in
class
• Create content: tell a group-
developed story
• More time on task - more hours
per week for English study,
outside class
• Reinforce parts of classwork
• Prepare ahead in Flipped mode
• Increase motivation
Not yet available:
•Students can’t learn to speak –
though they can learn to listen and
improve pronunciation
•Students can’t carry out natural
speech interaction with a virtual
partner
•Technology can’t understand and
semantically respond to student
speech (though can transcribe it and
translate it)

27. 1:1 classroom management

28. Plan Ceibal – remote teaching, local support
Remote teacher
using video-
phone
Students with
Classroom
laptops
Local class
teacher
managing activity
Local classroom:
TV screen
showing remote
teacher
Lesson materials
shown via Webex
2-way video
& audio
Joint
lesson
planning
28

29. 1:1 Policy development
Investment focus Budget
Technology infrastructure:
•Bandwidth
•Equipment – 1:1 devices &
BYOD systems
33%
Teacher development:
•pre-service
•in-service
33%
Curriculum update:
•pedagogical models,
language syllabus,
assessment systems
Digital content:
•textbooks, authentic input,
activities, apps
33%
Policy checklist
Strategy:
•Outcomes
•Measurement
•Quality Standards
•Sustainability
Pedagogical models:
•Curriculum design/integration
•Teacher training
•Classroom design
Technology:
•Connectivity
•Device-agnostic content
•Platform agnostic content
•Issues:
•BYOD, AR, ASR, IWB, LMS, QR,
Flipped Classroom

30. 1:1 Policy - Digital teacher competences
30
• Personal development:
Technology awareness;
curiosity; User training
• Lesson planning:
how to integrate digital content
• Classroom management:
how to coordinate formal
& informal activities
• Classroom management online:
how to manage a virtual
classroom
• Digital tools & media
awareness:
how to create new content with
students
“You can fill all the classrooms
with computers, but if you don’t
train the teachers on how to use
them effectively, [your] investment
will lose all of its purpose.”
Dr. Huseyin Celik, former minister of
education, Turkey

31. Cambridge – research to apps to exams
Cambridge ALTA
Research Institute
ALTA researches into:
• text and speech
processing
• machine learning
• corpus
development and
analysis

32. Babel fish?

33. Research – TIRF mobile language learning papers
• 8 papers on
current state of
mobile learning
approaches to
teaching of
English
• Download from:
author title
Ken Beatty Beyond the classroom: mobile learning in the wider world
Agnes Kukulska-Hulme Re-skilling language learners for a mobile world
Nicky Hockly Designer learning: the teacher as designer of mobile-
based classroom learning experiences
Philip Hubbard and
Glenn Stockwell
Some emerging principles for mobile-assisted language
learning
John Traxler Mobile Learning for Languages - Can The Past Speak to
the Future?
Nik Peachey Quality reviews of language learning materials available
for mobile devices, including those for workplace English
Paul Sweeney TBC
Matthew Kam TBC
www.tirfonline.org
Contacts: Carrier.m@cambridgeenglish.org

34. Mobile Learning: A Paradigm Shift in
Democratizing Learning Access
Brazilian context:
5th
largest country in the world
Diversity of income and living conditions
Disparity in access to quality education
Pisa ranking 58th
out of 65
Teaching: a low-status profession
Most teachers of English under B1 level
(Council of Europe CEFR)

35. How is mobile learning a part of our educational landscape
in Brazil and how close are we to a paradigm shift?
 Current situation in Brazil
 Current situation of a face to face
language provider of EFL
 Future tendencies

36. Current situation in Brazil: Barriers for MALL
Barriers for use of technology in Education
in Brazil
Uneven access to broad band – better in urban areas
Brazil average speed 2.4 mbps,3.6 Mexico and 8.7 USA
Low quality, high cost telecommunication services
Wi-fi not available in every school
Learning environment teacher led and print dependent
Learning rarely considers real life needs

37. Current situation in Brazil: Barriers for MALL
The public system
 Insufficient funding for schools
 Critical teacher situation due to:
 Low salaries
 Challenging working conditions
 Low-tech
 Resistance to change
 Gap in competences
 Lack of relevant digital content esp. language
learning
 Unprepared leadership (tech)

38. Current situation of tablets in schools:
a revolution to come
Current Status
In 2011 the Federal Government
announced the distribution of 600.000
tablets for teachers in 2012.
(happened 2013/14).
 R$180 million for tablets
 R$73 million for digital content
 R$1 billion for books
 And training?

39. Current situation of tablets in schools:
a revolution to come
Current Status
Criticism for lack of planning:
“We understood how the tablet worked when it
arrived at the school”.
Head of school in State of Pernambuco

40. Current situation: Tablet distribution in State of
São Paulo
 Coverage of 25% teachers
 Only 50% using tablets
 Distribution to high schools, urban areas
 Restricted to some subjects (exact sciences, biology)
 1 orientation session per bimester
 Teachers of English not included

41. Current situation: Tablet distribution in State of
São Paulo
All schools have a multi-media kit,
some being equipped as interactive
Examples of content:
 Khan Academy (Physics/Maths/
Biology/Chemistry)
 Teachers’ portal, MEC (Ministry
of Education)

42. Current situation: Opportunities
Opportunities for mobile use
Mobile phone 1.3 per capita, Russia 1.8
85% Android
 Smart phones with Android operating system allow computer
operations for lower income groups
 Brazil 2nd largest market for Facebook at 58 million accounts

43. Current situation: Opportunities
Drivers for increase of access and speed of broadband
Consumer expectations to watch major sporting events
Needs of the 12 host cities (World Cup)
Improvement in cost-efficiency
Introduction of higher speeds
Growth of use of corporate cloud-based applications

44. Current situation: Opportunities
The spontaneous use of mobile
by the learner (mainly urban)
 Records classes for use in long
commutes to work/school
 Takes photos of homework, flipcharts
 Downloads texts, presentations
 Uses WhatsApp for sharing with colleagues
 Watches films in streaming video

45. Current situation: Opportunities
Other drivers of change
Students rich experience with internet out of classroom will
push school activity
Cheap or free access through:
Lan houses, smart phones, community centres,
libraries and work places, etc

46. Current situation of a face to face language provider of
English as a Foreign Language
Technology available in organization
IWBs in classrooms
Multi media centres
Desktops and laptops for homework
Mobile devices used by teachers (uneven uptake)
Mobile devices used by most students for
informal learning (edutainment) and homework
BYOD

47. Raquel´s class

48. Language Provider: The opportunities we envisage
from TIRF papers for use of MALL
Providers should consider:
 Curriculum: a more intensive use of
personal road maps for students
 Need for investment in learning analytics to enable
customized learning (make or buy)
 Coverage of multiple OS
 Incorporation of social networking tools for more open
learning sources

49. Language Provider: The opportunities we envisage
from TIRF papers for use of MALL
Review of classroom practice:
 Alternative ways and pace of learning
 Inclusion of what students learn out of school and is
meaningful
 Co-authoring of learning experience
 Inclusion of learning that can take place wherever,
whenever and with whoever

50. Challenges for teacher development programmes
 Encourage teachers to use mobile devices
effectively with affordances and limitations
( not transfer past repertoire)
 Support teachers to build confidence and competence in the
transfer of students’ skills as proficient personal mobile users
 Trigger reflection of the power of mobile technology to
enhance learning
 Improve understanding of digital literacy

51. Challenges for teacher development programmes
 More familiarization sessions on potential
of tools and suitable free and paid content
 How to design relevant self-access content, activities
and skills development and not depend solely on
haphazard use of what teacher or student comes
across
 MALL should be embedded in the learning vision

52. Other challenges
 Use, limits and risks of social networking
(teacher leadership)
 Rethink learning process to leverage
informal knowledge
 Provide alternative mobile based learning solutions beyond
supplementary/ enhancement use for mobile devices

53. Future tendencies: MALL in Brazil
The distribution of mobile technology preceded
various critical planning phases:
Politicians/education leaders need to redefine the strategy for
use of curriculum and technology to fit current needs of students
and employers (Explore, Sustain, Renew)
A move to student-centred learning. Huge challenge for Brazil
Teacher development programmes needed for digital literacy of
teachers

54. Future tendencies: MALL in Brazil
Mobiles in education will grow as a natural
choice
Growth of mobile market
Brazilian celular phone carriers offer language courses at low
prices. Other suppliers are attracted to this market
Free and low cost apps allowing multi device use will gain
popularity in classrooms
Increase of broadband will allow more access
to open content

55. MALL in Brazil: How close are we to a paradigm
shift?
In 2014 an aspiration that will take at least 5 years to consolidate
Success in the classroom will depend on…
the readiness
of the teachers
the heart of the
matter
the missing piece
to the puzzle

56. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
U.S. Department of State
The Office of English Language Programs
presents the
AMERICAN ENGLISH
MOBILE APP
for Teachers and Learners
of English as a Foreign Language Abroad

57. English and the Global Mobile Audience
How can the State Department get English language
learning content to a diverse audience on the mobile
devices they already own?

58.  Roughly 75% of the world’s mobile
subscriptions are in developing
countries
 Feature phones make up more than
80% of the mobile phone market
Defining the Mobile Audience

59. Reaching the Mobile Audience
Introducing the free American English (AE) mobile app!
English Education Alliance partners, biNu and
Worldreader, support the Department in delivering
resources to lower-tech mobile devices
The AE mobile app
 Uses data compression to reduce access costs
 Requires a 2G+ mobile internet connection
 Compatibility: feature phones & Android phones

60. Watch the AE app in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hhxvi2DHwU
 Students: practice on the go!
Teachers: bring multimedia content into the classroom without
high-tech equipment and encourage
students to study outside of class

61. Quizzes

62. Quizzes

63. biNu Technology Makes the AE App Possible
 Our partner offers a free platform for feature phones that provides
smartphone-like capabilities

64. biNu
 5+ million monthly mobile users
 Cloud-based: 10x less data used
 Java-enabled feature phones or Android
devices
 Language support: 18+ languages
 Translates menus, icon labels, etc.
 Google Translate & dictionary support

65. How to download the AE App
1. To download, open the internet browser on your mobile device
2. Type in http://m.binu.com/ae
3. Choose the file type needed for your device
 Java – feature phones (non-smart phones)
 Android –
1. Follow the installation prompts (click “yes”)
2. Look for the AE app on your phone
3. Supply registration information for full access to all features (optional)

66. For more information, visit the
American English Mobile App
resource webpage
 Search for “mobile” on
http://americanenglish.state.gov
biNu Demo

67. Contact Information
Visit Us!
americanenglish.state.gov
AmericanEnglishatState
Office of English Language Programs
U.S. Department of State
americanenglish@state.gov

68. ELT for the Next Generation
Challenges of
Hardware and Human-ware in a
Tech-Emergent Environment
Richard Boyum
US Department of State
South and Central Asia Office of Public Diplomay

69. Take if for Granted versus Daily Uncertainty
Power
Bandwidth
Delivery

70. Take if for Granted versus Daily Uncertainty
Power
 Load shedding
 Generator
 Fuel

71. Take if for Granted versus Daily Uncertainty
Bandwidth
 3G 4G ??
 Feature Phone

Smart Phone

72. Take if for Granted versus Daily Uncertainty
Delivery

The last 100 yards

Access

Hot Spots

73. In spite of it all….
 The example of a professor in South Asia:
 Bought smartphone 3 yrs ago
 Explored apps - found dictionary, then others
Meeting the Challenge
I used a phonetic chart application a
lot because I was teaching phonetics
and phonology. I advised my students
to download that app from android
apps market. Almost half of my
students use android Mobile phones
so they can easily get these apps and
start using them.

74. Expanding the Repertoire
 Sounds
 Conversation
 Writing Skills
 IELTS
 TOEFL
 I usually engage them in group work activities so that they can at
least practice language skills using the mobile application and master
its use. Some of them do use these applications when they are out of
class or at home.

75. Challenges
 Half the class has smartphones
 Most think of phone for communication – text/call
 Few realize that the mobile is no longer just a device for
communication, but a rather full computer for many uses.

76. Challenges
 Attitudes toward learning (Sts and T):
learning = teacher lecturing
instead: You can learn outside of class
Learning can be fun
You can learn from a device
 Teachers need orientation/training, need to know
and use the apps
 Android market offers many applications that can assist the
teachers and learners in teaching and learning English. However,
most of the teachers and students are not aware of these apps. The
need is to introduce these apps and provide the teachers required
training for using these apps in language teaching and learning.

77. Way Forward
As mobile technology expands its reach....
Encourage teachers to take the lead.
Students will follow and embrace the technology
One click at a time…..

78. ELT for the Next Generation
Challenges of
Hardware and Human-ware in a
Tech-Emergent Environment
Richard Boyum
US Department of State
South and Central Asia Office of Public Diplomay

79. Mobile Learning:
A Paradigm Shift
in
Democratizing Learning Access
TESOL International Convention
Portland, OR
2014