TLL Week3: From CALL to MALL

In the session three, I learnt about Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). Basically this way is more effective than CALL ─that we had learnt in the previous session. It shows on the great differences of them. We can use MALL anywhere and anytime we want. Otherwise CALL is not. According to Kukulska-Hulme and Shield (2008), “MALL differs from computer-assisted language learning in its use of personal, portable devices that enable new ways of learning, emphasizing continuity or spontaneity of access and interaction across different contexts of use.” 

There are iPod, PDA, and mobile phone as some examples of MALL. Based Kukulska-Hulme and Shield, MALL already applied at Duke University. The collage gives each student an iPod as a media to learn language. They do a recording to record their oral assignment, and listening material from native speaker. Indisputable, the existence of technology indeed make learning and teaching process more interesting and fun. For the resume, there are three advantages of MALL. First, it is cheaper than a computer. Second, we can use it anywhere we want as a portable tool. The last is we can manage to our own time whenever we want. Besides, it will help students much to receive direct feedback from teacher, other students, or tutor. 

As we know, technology grows rapidly from time to time. PDA is not really as popular as it used to be. Nowadays, there are Tablet and iPad that changes PDA. Besides all of these, MALL also has several disadvantages. The quality of MALL is not as good as CALL. We can’t have such a high quality of video or anything as CALL have. Sometimes, we can’t access some data because it is not prepared on MALL device. With the term of MALL, it makes us seem to have an autism syndrome. The basic reason is we have our own world in our hands, like autistic people. We will lack of social relationship in the real world. Students in the future will become a socially awkward people. They will do not know how to build a relationship with others.

However, for learning language, I still consider MALL as an effective device to be enabled at learning and teaching activity. The reason of portable itself make it easier than CALL. I will wait Indonesia use this device, not just a computer lab or language lab which is still debatable and can not work properly.