Analyzing students’ after-school artifact creation processes in a mobile-assisted language learning environment

Abstract

This paper presents “Move, Idioms!”, a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning design that emphasizes learners‟ habit of mind and skills in making meaning with their daily encounters, and associating those with the knowledge learned at the formal classes. The students used smartphones on a 1:1, 24x7 basis to take photos in real-life contexts related to Chinese idioms, made sentences with the idioms, and posted them onto a wiki space for peer reviews. In this paper, we focus on investigating students‟ cognitive processes and patterns in artifact creation. Through two case studies, we gained better understanding of how (1) physical settings in the informal contexts, (2) parental support, and (3) technology facilitated students‟ meaning making in their daily life. We hope to contribute to the literature of mobile learning by exploring virtually limitless learning opportunities that informal contexts and parental involvement may offer to learners.