Listening with mobile devices: An ecological approach to context-embedded learning

Abstract

This presentation discusses a design-based research (DBR) study into effective design for teaching listening in the real world using mobile devices. An emergent theory of learning, ecological constructivism (EC), was chosen as the theory that best fit the learner interactions, as well as the affordances and constraints presented by the real-world learning environment. This DBR project was an ideal vehicle to iteratively test and refine the EC theory and its various constituent principles. EC is discussed as a theory that both accommodates and explains context-embedded language learning. A brief overview of the study and its results is also presented.