Chinese Students' Perceptions of Using Mobile Devices for English Learning

Literature Review

The rapid development of mobile technologies and various mobile products have enabled people to access information anytime and anywhere without limitations. Just as pencil and paper changed the means of learning, researchers saw signs of how mobile devices could enhance the existing learning approaches, both within the classroom (Viswanathan, 2012; Wagner, 2005) and outside school (Squire & Dikker, 2011; Kukulska-Hulme, 2006; Wang, Zou & Xing, 2014). As an extension of e-learning (Conole, 2004), mobile learning can be regarded as “the intersection of mobile computing and e-learning” (Quinn, 2008, p.1), which shares the principal aim in bridging the long distance between students and teachers. Mobile devices offer users “accessible recourses wherever you are, strong search capabilities, rich interaction and powerful support of learning” (Robson, 2003, p.1). On the one hand, it renders learning to be more learner-centered rather than teacher-led, which could challenge some traditional modes of teaching. While, on the other hand it is also reported that students will become more enthused and motivated in engaging classroom learning (Bibby, 2011).