Mobile apps for learning outside of classroom: the effects of peer influence on learning outcomes

Abstract

English has gained growing popularity to be a major medium of instruction of secondary and tertiary education in Hong Kong. With a view to utilizing the daily life context to practice using English more often and thus, enhancing students’ motivation to learn English well as a second language, a Mobile Coaching program is designed to suit students’ needs and interests. The findings from previous pilot research show that English learners display a high degree of willingness to live the language in their daily life outside of classroom with frequent interactions and communications in WhatsApp™ groups. This gives an insightful suggestion that learners’ mentality and motivation are a key factor to mastering the language. The current research acts as a follow-up study to the aforementioned finding to address some key issues. In this program, local students are invited to join as participants. They were required to produce a short article on a weekly basis. Coaches from international schools acted as the markers to review participants’ writing and give qualitative comments. Peer evaluation within each group was also encouraged. Pop quizzes were released from time to time, which requires collective effort to solve the questions. Under this model, more scaffolding was provided and peer learning was fostered to create a highly responsive learning environment. Peer influence was also a targeted outcome contributing positively to the motivation of participants.

Research Question 1: How is learners’ attitude towards mobile learning and how does it contribute to the effectiveness of learning?

Research Question 2: What are the effects of peer influence on the learning progress?