Research On English Mobile Learning Based On Familiar Strategies In Unfamiliar Environments

Based on the background that the familiar authentic environment is conducive to foreign language(FL)learning,this study designed familiarization strategies to help students get familiar with the unfamiliar learning environment,to help English as a foreign language(EFL)learners improve their English learning performance.In this study,the ways proposed by other researchers to help learners get familiar with unfamiliar environments are collected and organized logically,and then expanded.There is a total of 51 familiarization strategies,which are divided into three categories: "before entering the unfamiliar environment","during in the unfamiliar environment",and "after leaving the unfamiliar environment".The familiarization strategies were validated by two experts in the area of computer assisted language learning(CALL)and two experienced English teachers.Different environments and learners have different requirements for the familiarization strategies.Therefore,this study put forward as many strategies as possible to provide learners with rich choices.To support mobile English learning activities in unfamiliar environments,the research team developed an online learning platform to help participants complete learning tasks in unfamiliar environments,provide learners learning resources,publish learning tasks,and display what they created during tasks.Through a pilot study(an experiment),effectiveness of the familiarization strategies was preliminarily verified.Both groups of students performed the same English learning tasks in unfamiliar environments.Learners who used familiarization strategies showed higher levels of English writing.The researchers then recruited eight seventh-grade English teachers to form focus groups to discuss the effectiveness of familiarization strategies and their feasibility at the seventh-grade level.The focus group collected about four hours of audio as research data.The following results were obtained by encoding the interview content of focus group.First,focus groups can improve students' familiarity with unfamiliar environments.Second,the familiarization strategies are suitable for the characteristics of seventh grade students.But the following three problems still need to be overcome: the large difference in information retrieval ability,the safety of minors and the need to stimulate learning interest.To address these three issues,focus groups suggested that teachers and students of seventh grade should emphasize teacher participation and group cooperation in practice.According to the results,this study adjusted the original familiarization strategies and put forward new one which is suitable for students of seventh grade.Based on the above,this study puts forward several suggestions.First,students need to use familiarization strategies to understand unfamiliar learning environment in advance;Second,students need to flexibly choose applicable strategies according to their needs;Third,teachers should actively participate in and set up groups to help students complete information retrieval,eliminate security risks and design interesting learning activities.