Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and English Proficiency Development among ESL College Students: A Quasi-Experimental Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has garnered increasing scholarly attention as a pedagogical approach that leverages the ubiquity and multimodal affordances of smartphones and language learning applications to support second language acquisition outside formal classroom boundaries. This study investigated the effects of a structured 14-week MALL intervention on English as a Second Language (ESL) college students' proficiency development, focusing on vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, listening and speaking competence, and grammar accuracy, while simultaneously examining student motivation and the experiential dimensions of MALL engagement. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design was employed with 218 first- and second-year college students at a Philippine State University, randomly assigned at the class section level to a MALL experimental group (n = 110) and a conventional instruction control group (n = 108). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) results demonstrated statistically significant and practically large advantages for the MALL group across all English proficiency sub-skills and overall proficiency (F values ranging from 44.28 to 87.46, all p < .001; partial η² ranging from .21 to .39). Multiple regression analysis further identified MALL usage frequency (β = .45), digital language self-efficacy (β = .36), learner motivation (β = .29), and perceived app usefulness (β = .22) as significant independent predictors of post-intervention English proficiency, collectively explaining 47% of outcome variance. Qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 42 participants yielded five core themes: authentic language exposure, learner autonomy and self-pacing, gamification and motivational engagement, social interaction and peer learning, and technology anxiety and access barriers. These findings collectively affirm the transformative potential of MALL for ESL proficiency development while underscoring the equity imperatives that must be addressed for MALL benefits to be equitably distributed. Implications for language curriculum design, institutional policy, and equitable digital access are discussed.