Orit Ezra

Levels of L2 Chinese Contextualized Mobile Assisted Language Learning: Impact on Students’ Language Learning Motivation

Project description

Contextualized Mobile Assisted Language Learning (CMALL) is highly valued as a means to achieve meaningful learning. However, although the role of high quantities of CMALL is prominent, MALL literature discusses contextualization dichotomously, rather than measuring it and relating to its potential levels, without considering affective outcomes theoretically. Although evaluating contextual activities and their outcomes is challenging, we shall quantitatively evaluate CMALL’s level and associate it with motivation using a model we developed in previous empirical studies for CMALL measurement, based on real world place and real life activity contexts. The hypothesis of CMALL influence on motivation is based on our developed theoretical CMALL-motivation framework. The difficult Chinese language makes it an appropriate candidate for examining CMALL relation to motivational outcomes.

In target country (Taiwan) – where the studied language is the spoken language – learners’ variance in CMALL can be obtained. Data about the accumulated CMALL and motivation of Chinese students from a Taiwanese university, with which we collaborate, will be analyzed using students’ diaries.

The study will contribute theoretically understanding the independent and overall contribution of various components of CMALL (real world, real life etc.) and will enrich the methodological practices, which face a challenging necessity of evaluating CMALL. Practitioners in target and non-target countries may be encouraged to incorporate CMALL within their curriculum. These theoretical and methodological breakthroughs fit other languages in addition to Chinese, given our reliance upon general learning theories.

About Me:

I hold a BSc. in Industrial Engineering from the Technion, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Haifa University, and an M.A. in Science Education from the School of Education at Tel Aviv University. For more than 10 years I had worked as a professional training consultant for training departments of multinational companies in managing, developing and delivering large-scale training projects in diverse cultural settings worldwide. During my M.A. in Asian Studies, I began learning Chinese and later I spent close to two years in Taiwan to further improve my proficiency. I am currently a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Dr. Anat Cohen. In addition to my research which focuses on the intersection of technology and language learning processes, I have also been involved in a collaboration project between Tel Aviv University and a Taiwanese university, which aims to cultivate Israeli Chinese school teachers.