MALL Bibliography

This site hosts two MALL bibliographies:

The Gener­­­­­­­­a­­­­l MALL Bibliography 1994-2024­­

A Selected Annotated Bibliography of Experimental MALL Implementation Studies 1999-2024

The Gener­­­­­­­­a­­­­l MALL Bibliography 1994-2024­­ is intentionally very broad in nature and includes publications relating to all aspects of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning written in any language and targeting any L2 language. Only one exclusion applies to this bibliography and this concerns studies that merely assume the use of mobile devices. Like many researcher-designed apps used in MALL studies, nearly all commercial apps (e.g., Duolinguo, WhatsApp, Quizlet, TeachAR, etc.) are in fact multiplatform and run on desktop and laptop computers as well as mobile devices. Since mobile device usage is the intended focus of this bibliography, studies in which the operating platform is not specified, or where participants are free to use any platform, are not included. Despite this exclusion, the Gener­­­­­­­­a­­­­l MALL Bibliography currently exceeds 6100 entries from all sources: journals, conference proceedings, masters theses, doctoral dissertations and sundry reports and articles. It was compiled largely from other published MALL bibliographies, most notably Burston (2013) and the references in over 200 MALL overviews and meta-analyses. This was complemented by keyword searches of academic databases (e.g., Scopus, SSCI, Science Direct, ProQuest, etc.) and the recursive bibliographical mining of the references within these primary sources. The great majority of MALL studies appear outside of journals and associated conference proceedings dedicated to language learning and instructional technology. Some are published in academic dissertations, but most are to be found rather in a great variety of professional journals and conferences having nothing in particular to do with language instruction. Locating copies of these publications can be a real challenge in itself. For this reason, where possible, hyperlinks are included to online sources of the works cited. While many of these may be downloaded without cost, the majority require an institutional subscription or have to be individually purchased.

The Selected Annotated Bibliography of Experimental Implementation Studies 1999-2024 has been extracted from the General MALL Bibliography. These are studies which involve the application of mobile-based or mobile-accessible apps and/or mobile device affordances (e.g., audio/video recording, picture/note taking) for the teaching and learning of languages in a defined learning environment with specified participants and learning conditions. A distinction, however, is made between Augmented Reality (AR) as opposed to Virtual Reality (VR) MALL implementations. Unlike AR, which typically works through readily available mobile devices (i.e., smartphones and tablet computers), VR requires access to highly specialized headset receptors (e.g., Google Daydream, Meta Quest, Next, etc.). Since such receptors have always needed to be supplied to students, VR MALL implementations are very much out of step with the well-established ubiquitous nature of MALL. They thus have not been included in the experimental MALL references here. Notwithstanding, this bibliography contains over 1700 entries relating uniquely to experimental implementations, To enhance the information contained in the references, each entry is accompanied by a brief (maximum 100 word) synopsis. To the extent that the publication provides such information, this summary includes essential details relating to the country in which the experimental implementation took place, the institutional environment, mobile device used, native language, target language, language proficiency level of learners, targeted skill(s) area, treatment details, sample size, intervention duration and outcomes.

Users of these bibliographies are encouraged to advise the author of any errors that might be encountered (including broken links) and also to send along references not already included (along with download hyperlinks, and an e-copy, if possible). These may be sent to: jack.burston@cut.ac.cy

Jack Burston

Cyprus University of Technology