Foreign Language Enjoyment In Mobile-assisted English Reading Of Business English Major Students

Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)is getting prevalent for its convenience and immediacy.However,the success of MALL cannot be guaranteed without Foreign Language Enjoyment(FLE)as enjoyment is one of the most prevalent and salient positive emotions in foreign language learning experienced by language learners across different contexts(Pavelescu & Petric,2018).So far,most studies in MALL focus on developing foreign learners’ language skills,neglecting positive emotions like enjoyment.Issues relating to the nature of enjoyment such as how it changes in this context and its influencing factors still remain unexplored.Therefore,the present study intended to explore how students’ Foreign Language Enjoyment on reading changes over one semester in Mobile-assisted Language Learning context and explored factors that influence students’ enjoyments in such context.The above research objectives are embodied in the following two research questions:(1)How does students’ FLE on reading change in one semester under MALL context?(2)What are the factors that influence students’ enjoyments?A mixed-method approach with longitudinal data collected over one semester was employed.The quantitative data were obtained from Business English major students in an intact class by using FLE scale on reading in three stages,that is,in the third week,the ninth week and the fifteenth week.The scale on reading was derived from Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale(FLES)of Dewaele&Mac Intyre(2014,2016)and the reliability of scale(α>0.7)and corrected item-total correlation(>0.4)were tested on the pilot study.The items in FLE scale on reading were further divided into two dimensions:FLE-Private and FLE-Social(Dewaele & Mac Intyre,2016).The qualitative data contain students’ daily reading notes,reflective journals,and semi-structured interview records.The influencing factors of FLE on reading were also concluded from FLEPrivate and FLE-Social aspects.The results revealed that under the MALL context,the students’ three-stage FLE on reading showed a V-shape change,displaying an overall increase with a dip in Stage 2.The FLE-Private factors include: gaining the sense of achievement and accomplishment from acquiring new knowledge or information and developing reading habit during the reading process.Nevertheless,the content of reading that students could not master and the difficulties they encountered in choosing reading materials dampened their sense of achievement and lowered private enjoyment.The FLE-Social factors include: the nice reading environment created by convenient and informative reading application,encouragement and support from teachers during reading process.However,peer interaction,an essential social factor in other contexts,appeared to show little influence in this reading project,as students showed low enjoyment and desired to increase interaction.And the design of reading task was also a crucial factor in social dimension that influencing their enjoyments.Some students considered it was benefit for them to develop reading habit,while others thought it was burdensome as extracurricular reading.This study provides some pedagogical implications for teacher in future FL teaching under MALL context.Teachers need to be more creative and supportive in the learning process when students use mobile devices.Choosing the right and suitable learning tools can reduce barriers for students.The thesis ends with the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.