Confirming the efficacy of vocabulary-enhanced L2 listening with mobile applications: the extended technology acceptance model revisited

Abstract Vocabulary knowledge is key to improving L2 listening. Multimedia and mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) are commonly-used approaches to help learners acquire vocabulary and improve listening skills. However, research on the role of vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension, particularly with mobile learning applications, remained limited in secondary education. The present study adopted the extended TAM validated by Hsu and Lin (2024. Factors influencing students’ listening learning performance in mobile vocabulary-assisted listening learning: An extended technology acceptance model. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 40. 1511–1525) to examine how listening can be enhanced through vocabulary learning with the assistance of MALL applications. Researchers recruited 120 senior high school students and required them to take tests and complete the scale. Quantitative data were analyzed by partial-least-squares SEM (PLS-SEM) to provide the measurement model and the structural model. The results showed that constructs in the proposed model were validated in terms of the measurement model, confirming great reliability and validity. In the structural model, six out of eight hypotheses were supported. It was noted that behavioral intention was not directly related to learning achievements in listening, but through vocabulary enhancement, it indirectly enhanced listening scores, corroborating the importance of auditory vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension. Pedagogical implications from this study shed lights on effects of mobile applications, confirming language learning outcomes benefitted from the combination of MALL applications.