Promoting Learner Autonomy in Learning English Listening Skills through Mobile-Assisted Applications

Abstract

The use of mobile-assisted applications such as Listen to English Daily Practice, LearnEnglish Podcasts, and VOA Learning English: AI+ has significantly contributed to learners' improvements in English skills. This mixed methods research aimed to investigate how mobile-assisted applications promote learner autonomy in and beyond English listening classes. To serve the research purposes, the study employed a two-month experimental teaching, class observations, two sets of questionnaires, and interview responses. The findings revealed that students showed a higher level of engagement, motivation, and responsibility in their learning. Moreover, students expressed their purposeful selection of learning content and effective use of their learning strategies, resulting in better listening competence. Most of them shared their positive attitudes toward the use of mobile-assisted applications. However, the students still revealed some difficulties, such as the insufficiency of teachers' supervision and feedback, as well as the gradual decrease in students' persistence and commitment to using those applications. Therefore, some pedagogical implications were suggested to help students mitigate some barriers and drawbacks and maximize the quality of learning English listening using mobile-assisted applications.