2018 Annual Conference of China English Language Education Association (CELEA2018)

248 / 2018-06-29 09:32:13

A Study of Language Socialization Through Mobile Learning in a Graduate Course of Second Language Acquisition

mobile learning; case study; language socialization

Plenary track > 中国特色英语教学研究

In the wake of the development of information technologies, mobile-learning has received a growing attention among scholars. Mobile-learning creates a seamless environment where learners, with the assistance of mobile devices, can learn at anytime and from anywhere. The devices can efficiently present the learning contents and achieve a two-way communication between teachers and students. Guided by the notion of “language socialization”, this study examined the situated learning experiences of seven Year-1 graduate students while adapting to the new academic environment of the course of “Second Language Acquisition”. The mobile learning approach was used both in and outside of the classroom. The research questions are as follows: 1) how do the graduate students adapt to the new environment of postgraduate education? 2) how do they improve their professional competence with the help of mobile learning? 3) what are the similarities and differences among different students in their learning? WeChat messages, interviews, coursework and classroom observations were collected over an academic term of 4 months. Results showed that academic adaptation was a complex sociocultural phenomenon in which students gradually became competent members of the academic community. It is hoped that the analysis will provide new insights for newcomers and teachers in graduate programs.