Abstract

This study addresses the issue of integrating mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) systems into L2 reading instruction in the Saudi secondary schools in order to improve the reading comprehension skills of struggling EFL students. The focus is to find out whether students’ language performance is accelerated by using MALL together with teacher instruction versus conventional instruction alone. In order to assess the effectiveness of MALL systems and activities in improving reading comprehension skills in EFL contexts, an experimental study was carried out where 120 participants of grade ten students in four public secondary school of Riyadh District in Saudi Arabia were randomly divided into two groups: experiment and control. Reading skills of the participants’ were measured by pre-test and post-test by a panel of three national experts. The comparison between the experimental group and the control group pinpoint that MALL materials and systems improve reading comprehension skill among EFL students. The findings indicate clearly that there was a significant difference between MALL users and nonusers in favour of the experimental group (p < .05). It can be then generalized that MALL systems and applications in general provide a motivating learning environment for teaching reading which has its positive implications on improving the reading skills of students.

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