Utilization of Hello Talk Mobile Application in Ameliorating Iranian EFL Learners’ Autonomy

Language teaching and learning have become more technologically advanced in recent years. These technological advances may change the nature of education and the place and the time at which the learning process takes place. In this regard, the present study investigated how the HelloTalk application affected Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ autonomy. The study enjoyed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. In doing so, ۵۴ intermediate EFL learners were randomly selected from an institute in Isfahan, Iran. The participants were divided into two homogeneous experimental groups based on their level of education (N = ۲۷). Both groups received a multidimensional Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (LAQ) as an online pre-test and post-test on Google Docs. The data analysis was done through Paired Sample T-test, frequencies, and percentages. By comparing different dimensions, and the p-values of the two groups from the pre-test to the post-test, the results revealed that utilizing the HelloTalk application significantly and positively affected Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ autonomy. Besides, experts and EG learners had a positive attitude toward using the application. The findings of this study could be fruitful for learners with enough competence with inadequate knowledge of how to become autonomous through mobile applications. It could also provide insights into how technology tools and computer programs could facilitate teaching and learning English.

کلیدواژه ها:

Keywords: Autonomy ، HelloTalk Application ، Learner Autonomy ، Mobile-Assisted Language Learning ، Self-directed learning