Two sides of the same coin: Opinions and choices of users and non-users related to mobile music listening

Mobile music listening has been explored from several perspectives, however, not much is known about the choices mobile music listeners have to make. Moreover, feedback from non-listeners on music listening has only been given anecdotally and not in the context of research. The aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate what motivates listeners to engage with mobile music and to discover more about the social and personal aspects that influence this engagement, as well as to explore views of non-listeners on mobile music listening. Employing a mixed-methods approach, interviews and participant observation were carried out with eleven mobile music listeners to investigate their thoughts and motivations regarding mobile music listening, and to verify these in practice. Eleven people who do not use portable listening devices were also interviewed about their opinions on mobile music listening. The most striking finding of this thesis is that listeners are not always listeners since they sometimes turn off their devices. The interviews with non-users of portable listening devices confirm that mobile music listening is not always seen as positive but has negative aspects as well, which add an important perspective to understanding this behaviour. Results reveal that mobile music listening is a complex cultural practice that connects to many parts of everyday life. Thus, mobile music listening, and similar practices, need to be studied in context to fully grasp everything that is happening. The new method applied in the first study proved to be beneficial in studying everyday behaviour as it occurs. It helps to gain valuable in-depth information in a short amount of time which is useful for future studies of everyday practices. Finally, results show that mobile music listening is simultaneously more sociable than previously assumed but also perceived as unsociable, which contributes a new perspective to studies of urban behaviour

The relationship between environmental context and attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences

Previous research has shown that podcasts are most frequently consumed using mobile listening devices across a wide variety of environmental, situational, and social contexts. To date, no studies have investigated how an individual’s environmental context might influence their attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences. Improving understanding of the contexts in which episodes of listening take place, and how they might affect listener engagement, could be highly valuable to researchers and producers working in the fields of object-based and personalised media. An online questionnaire on listening habits and behaviours was distributed to a sample of 264 podcast listeners. An exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors of environmental context that influence attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences. The factors were labelled as: outdoors, indoors & at home, evenings, soundscape & at work, and exercise. The soundscape & at work factor suggests that some listeners actively choose to consume podcasts to mask disturbing stimuli in their surrounding soundscape. Five aspects of podcast listening engagement were also defined and measured across the sample, providing a comprehensive quantitative account of contemporary podcast listening experiences. Further analysis suggested that the proposed factors of environmental context were positively correlated with the measured aspects of podcast listening engagement. The results presented support the hypothesis that elements of a listener’s environmental context can influence their attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences. They are highly pertinent to the fields of podcast studies, mobile listening experiences, and personalised media, and provide a basis for researchers seeking to explore how other forms of listening context might influence attentional engagement

Mobile-Assisted Flipped Learning Integrated with Metacognitive Skills in the Teaching of Speaking and Listening Skills

The integration of mobile technology within the framework of flipped learning provides a viable and efficient means of fostering learners' speaking and listening skills. Through the flipped classroom, learners are better prepared for in-class interactions, as they have already acquired foundational knowledge and exposure to authentic language use. Therefore, this study aims to find out the efficacy of mobile-assisted flipped learning integrated with metacognitive skills in the teaching of speaking and listening skills in Mandalika University of Education. This study is designed in experimental design which is non-equivalent control group design. In this design, participants are not randomly assigned to the intervention or control group, resulting in inherent differences between the groups that may influence the outcomes. The instruments employed the speaking, listening, and metacognitive tests. The collected data are analyzed in descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Based on the data analysis, the conclusion of this study showed that the integration of mobile-assisted flipped learning had a positive impact on learners' speaking and listening proficiency. Learners actively engaged in preparing their learning activities, both during out-of-class and in-class sessions. The incorporation of mobile technology and the flipped learning approach empowered learners to take ownership of their learning, enabling them to access instructional materials outside the traditional classroom setting and actively participate in in-class interactions. These findings highlight the potential of mobile-assisted flipped learning as an effective pedagogical approach in enhancing learners' speaking and listening skills, while also promoting learner autonomy and engagement in the learning process

Integrating Extensive Listening into Coursework through Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

This action research project evaluates students’ use of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) for an extensive listening (EL) module in a listening course over a 15-week semester. In EL, language learners listen to large amounts of high-interest content that is roughly within the “comfort zone” of their comprehension to improve such listening abilities as comprehension, vocabulary, confidence, and motivation. In this project, three classes of Japanese freshmen and sophomores (N=67) completed the module as part of their course homework. Students used mobile devices, primarily smartphones, to stream their choice of videos from a commercial website with an online library. Also, they carried out language learning tasks including listening comprehension, vocabulary recognition, and speaking. A mixed method design was employed to assess student use of the module and their attitudes toward using their smartphones for educational purposes. An online 21-item survey indicated that students recognized the benefits of EL but had mixed attitudes toward using their smartphones as an educational tool. Successful student engagement was tracked in forms of videos watching; lines from the videos, spoken aloud, and vocabulary items studied; suggesting a promising technology for language learning. In addition, the two most engaged and the two least engaged participants in each class were interviewed, indicating the importance of teachers monitoring students and encouraging them

Mobile reflections (MoRe) pilot, developing reflection within initial teacher training for students with dyslexia

The MoRe (Mobile Reflections) pilot was designed to explore whether the use of freely available Web 2.0 technology and mobile phones could assist dyslexic student teachers to develop reflective skills by capturing their reflections using audio within a shared online learning space

About using Mobile Reflections

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Mobile language learning now and in the future

The widespread ownership of mobile devices such as cellphones, personal media players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones and wireless laptops means that ‘mobile learning’ is no longer in the preserve of technical experts and researchers with specialist knowledge. Teachers and learners have begun to integrate mobile technologies into everyday practices and there is evidence of efforts to invent exciting new scenarios of use. Language learning is one of the disciplines that looks set to benefit from these developments. Learners can make good use of the facilities to record and to listen to audio at any time, supported by the rising availability of podcasts and the ‘always on’ characteristics of portable devices which encourage spontaneous interactions. Mobile learning promises to deliver closer integration of language learning with everyday communication needs and cultural experiences

Comparative Review Apps towards an ‘in-between’ performance app

This review aimed to inform the background literature and design of a prototype for a mobile app to expand the expressive and technical possibilities of improvisatory-telematic performances within the context of the project ‘Networked Migrations’, being developed since 2011. It focused on mobile apps that use sound and encourage listening, sounding (performing) and interconnecting within local and distant locations. In collaboration with the iOS developer Donal O’Brien, we reviewed forty (40) apps publicly available for iPhone and Android platforms, analysing how these invite the user to listen, to perform and to connect with others. Although a heuristic analysis was proposed — which usually relates to the visual interface, usability and some game interaction — we noticed the need of establishing some parameters to develop a qualitative analysis specifically for sound apps. This analysis involved listening experience, expression and performativity, embodiment and gesture, social engagement (collaboration - connection), and perception of sonic space. We also felt that market criteria, which was part of the initial objectives, was not that relevant for the purpose of the review, and we left it as additional information within the table of analysis. Technical considerations focused on the use and transmission of voice, and connectivity features. These were developed in a technical Appendix