This book explores theoretical and practical aspects of implementing mobile language learning in university classrooms for English as a Foreign Language in Japan. The technologies utilized, such as smartphones, iPads, and wi-fi, integrate students’ hand-held devices into the campus network infrastructure. The pedagogical aims of ubiquitous mobile learning further incorporate social media, blended learning, and flipped classroom approaches into the curriculum. Chapter 1 defines mobile language learning within dimensions of e-learning and technology-assisted language learning, prior to tracing the development of mobile learning in Japan. Chapter 2 documents the sociocultural theory underpinning the authors’ humanistic approach to implementation of mobile technologies. The sociocultural pedagogy represents a global consensus of leading educators that also recognizes the agency of Asian learners and brings out their capability for autonomous learning. Case studies of universities, large and small, public and private, are organized similarly in Chapters 3 to 5. Institutional/pedagogical and technological context sections are followed by detailed content on the implementation of initiatives, assessment of effectiveness, and recommendations for other institutions. Distinct from a collection of papers, this monograph tells a story in brief book length about theorizing and realizing mobile language learning, describing pioneering and original initiatives of importance to practitioners in other educational contexts.
Steve McCarty was born in Boston and specialized in Japan at the University of Hawaii. He was a regular faculty member and full Professor in Japan from 1985-2015. He currently lectures for Osaka Jogakuin University, Kansai University, KIC Graduate School of IT, and (since 2004) the Japanese government international agency JICA. Since 1998 he has been the elected President of the academic NGO World Association for Online Education.
Dr. Hiroyuki Obari is a Professor at the Aoyama Gakuin University College of Economics, and part-time Lecturer at the Tokyo Institute of Technology graduate school and Waseda University Faculty of Law. He obtained his MA in TESOL from Columbia University and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Tsukuba. He was a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford in 1998-1999 and 2007-2008.
Takeshi Sato is an Associate Professor at the Division of Language and Culture Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. He holds MA degrees in TESOL from Keio University and the Institute of Education (London). His academic interests include L2 vocabulary acquisition, computer & mobile-assisted language learning, and English as a Lingua Franca pedagogy. He has published articles in TESOL Quarterly, ReCALL, Asian EFL Journal, etc.
