MALL activity

The following post explains how the MALL principles (mentioned in Stockwell and Hubbard, 2013) with elementary EFL nine-year students in a private school in Armenia. First, activities are created to allow learners to study the vocabulary presented in their English textbooks. The activities simply ask students after each lesson to take pictures that show the words they have learned. After that, students need to upload these photos to their teacher's driver. Then the teacher uses the photos in vocabulary activities consisted of short multiple-choice questions, vocabulary matching questions, and gap-filling questions that could be created using the Quizzlet app. The teacher can use these activities every other lesson or at the end of the unit to revise the vocabulary learned.

This task takes into consideration several  MALL principles. For example, in relation to principles 1 and 5, the task is considering the limitations that students at such age might either use a computer only or their phones are basic but they still can take photos at least. Therefore, learners are given the option of using either their mobile phones or desktop computers (PCs) to upload the photos and complete the activities. 

Moreover, in relation to principles 2 and 3, students are not required to make a lot of effort using their phones (or computers) to complete the task. In relation to the pull & push mechanisms, the students have their own right to take the photos and upload them at any time before the next lesson and their teacher does not need even to remind them every time and push them to do so.

Likewise, in relation to principles 6 and 7, besides being that short and simple, the task does not ask students to use their phones in a way that breaks their privacy or uses them in an uncomfortable situation whatsoever. in fact, taking pictures is one of the most common things they use their phones during the day.