A Review of the Effects of Cellphone-Assisted Language Learning on Learners’ Motivation

Abstract

This review examined the effects of cellphones as a teaching or learning tool on students’ motivation, with a particular focus on the research designs, measurements, and key findings. Keller’s (1984) motivation model was adopted as the analytic lens to evaluate papers and to analyze learners’ motivation. The findings about motivation were mostly positive, but the research designs were overwhelmingly quantitative and were not described in detail. In most of the articles, learners’ motivation increased after cellphone interventions, or students showed positive progress toward using cellphones as a learning tool because of real-context learning opportunities, interactive environments, gaming features. Most studies used either mixed-methods or quantitative approaches, with surveys and questionnaires as the dominant data collection method to measure motivation. However, only one article employed a specific measurement tool to examine learning motivation. Future research can focus on longitudinal research to control for the effects of initial exposure to cellphone learning with rigorous quantitative measures. Qualitative research is needed to investigate individuals’ perceptions. There is also a need for research on language learners in English speaking countries, such as international students.