The Influence of MALL on Senior High School Students' Acquisition and Retention of Collocations: The Case of WhatsApp

The present quasi-experimental study examined the impact of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on ۵۰ female pre-university (grade ۱۲th) students’ acquisition and retention of collocations. To this end, two intact classes (۲۵ students in each class) were randomly assigned into two groups, i.e., one experimental group and one control group. The students were studying experimental sciences at the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET) senior high school in Salmas, Iran. Data collection tools involved Preliminary English Test (PET) as well as researcher-developed collocation pre- and post-tests. During the study that lasted for ۱۰ sessions, the experimental group received instructions and attempted to learn ۴۰ collocations through WhatsApp, whereas the control group used worksheets to learn the collocations. The outcomes of the independent-samples t-test demonstrated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in both immediate and delayed post-tests. The implications are discussed in terms of the efficacy of MALL and online teaching in pre-university students’ acquisition and retention of collocations.

کلیدواژه ها:

Collocations ، MALL ، NODET ، Online Teaching ، Senior High School ، WhatsApp