What students think and what they actually do in a mobile assisted language learning context: new insights for self-directed language learning in higher education

In an attempt to understand whether Mobile-Assisted Language
Learning (MALL) could foster students’ self-directed learning, this paper analyzes
a self-directed learning experience by means of a language app: Duolingo. In
this study, higher education language students were encouraged to use Duolingo
outside of the classroom. The data collected via app tracking, surveys and semistructured
interviews reveal that the low activity in the app contrasts the high
value students attribute to it. Students indicated that the low activity is due to other
obligations in their lives. They also expressed the need of external motivation to
finish the course. The study suggests that mentoring and modeling are still needed
in the development of self-directed study skills and it highlights the importance
of implementing different data collection techniques to understand what students
think and do in MALL.