SIG Events

EuroCALL MALL sig Symposium at the annual Conference will be held from 2pm CET (local time) on Thursday, August 26th.
TO join please download the Whova Official App. 

Abstract for Symposium: 

Linking formal and informal MALL: theory and practice since early 2020

Submitted by: Bruce Lander, Valentina Morgana, Ton Koenraad

There is no arguing that 2020 was a turbulent year for pretty much everyone.  As CALL and MALL researchers though 2020 was a year where our expertise were more in demand than ever.  From early last year the switch from traditional F2F learning to an online format was almost instantaneous.  For many this created confusion and panic, however for CALL and MALL researchers this transition simply brought our prowess to the forefront for everyone and was akin to methods many of us have been adopting for several years.  Although there is one thing that has changed, the disparity between formal and informal language learning through the use of MALL and CALL tools.  The potential for our students to adopt the digital tools that were once being used only in the classroom (formal) are now far more accessible due to the huge increase in screen time of both computer and mobile devices outside the classroom (informal).  Our students have far more contact with these tools now than before which hugely increases the potential for learning informally, or autonomously.

The MALL sig symposium this year will be based around the concept of formal vs. informal language learning with MALL tools regarding pedagogical changes we have all become accustomed to since early 2020.  We originally invited five speakers but sadly due to changes this number is now two.  

We are happy to announce that the two main speakers for the MALL sig symposium at EuroCALL 2021 are the two renowned researchers of Prof. Olga Viberg of the KTH Royal institute of Technology in Stockholm Sweden, and Agnes Kulkuska Hulme of the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, the UK, Milton Keynes. 

·        Agnes Kukulska-Hulme of the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, UK

·        Olga Viberg, of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

We intend to cover areas of formal vs. informal learning from both the theoretical and practical perspective.  Since early 2020, the majority of us will have made the switch to online classes where we encourage MALL apps and tools to promote and encourage self regulated learning with our students.  We hope that this symposium will allow us to exchange and generate ideas on how teachers and learners can use mobile technologies to promote attractive and effective language learning.

The MALL sig would like to invite you to join in on this discussion with two distinguished researchers in our field and learn how the disparity of formal and informal language learning through mostly MALL based tools is becoming less defined in recent times.

More detail on each presentation: 

·        Olga Viberg, of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Many adult second and foreign language learners have insufficient opportunities to engage in language learning across formal and informal learning settings. However, their successful acquisition of a target language is critical for various reasons. This suggests that they need additional support to succeed in their second language acquisition. In this presentation, I will argue that such support would benefit from recent advances in the fields of mobile-assisted language learning, self-regulated language learning, and learning analytics. In particular, I will present a conceptual framework, mobile-assisted language learning through learning analytics for self-regulated learning (MALLAS), to help learning designers support second language learners through the use of learning analytics to enable self-regulated learning. Although the MALLAS framework is presented here as an analytical tool that can be used to operationalise the support of mobile-assisted language learning in a specific exemplary learning context, it would be of interest to researchers who wish to better understand and support self-regulated language learning in mobile contexts.

·        Agnes Kukulska-Hulme of the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, UK

MALL is a rapidly developing field and increasingly may be seen as one element of a blend of technologies and pedagogical approaches supporting flexible and adaptive learning. What research questions should be posed in studies in this phase of its development? As part of an effort to reflect more broadly on research questions in MALL overall (Kukulska-Hulme, forthcoming), this talk will consider some RQs in studies pertaining to formal and informal learning contexts in MALL. It invites a discussion of what might be good research questions for future studies that may combine both contexts. In other words, what do we need to know?