The Future of Foreign Language Instructional Technology: BYOD MALL

Jack Burston

doi:10.4995/eurocall.2016.4431

Authors

Jack Burston Cyprus University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2016.4431

Keywords:

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, Bring Your Own Device approach, instructional technology

Abstract

This paper describes trends in instructional technology that are influencing foreign language teaching today and that can be expected to increasingly do so in the future. Though already an integral part of foreign language instruction, digital technology is bound to play an increasing role in language teaching in the coming years. The greatest stimulus for this will undoubtedly be the accessibility of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), made possible through the exploitation of mobile devices owned by students themselves. The ubiquitous ownership of smartphones and tablet computers among adolescents and adults now makes a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach a feasible alternative to desktop computer labs. Making this work, however, especially in a financially and technologically restricted environment, presents a number of challenges which are the focus of this paper.

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Author Biography

Jack Burston, Cyprus University of Technology

Jack Burston is a language-teaching specialist with a formal background in theoretical and applied linguistics, second language acquisition and testing. He also has considerable expertise in computer-assisted language learning, foreign language software evaluation and language center design. Jack is the former software review editor of the CALICO Journal and a former member and chair of the CALICO Executive Board. He was the editor of the IALLT Language Center Design Kit and the Digital Language Lab Solutions volume. His current major area of interest is in Mobile-Assisted Language Learning.

References

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