Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Flow Features: A Systematic Review

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) extends practice beyond scheduled lessons, but the app-related conditions associated with flow remain unclear. This systematic review examined non-experimental cross-sectional quantitative studies and distinguished MALL features from learners' evaluations, task conditions, and learner or contextual factors. Searches of Scopus and Web of Science identified 89 records; after duplicate removal and screening, eight studies published between 2021 and 2026 met the eligibility criteria, representing 3,684 participants. Methodological quality was appraised using the 2024 CASP checklist for descriptive and cross-sectional studies, and findings were synthesised narratively because applications, flow measures, and analytical models varied. Playability showed the most consistent positive relationship with flow. Interactivity had no significant independent path in two studies, although it appeared in one sufficient high-flow configuration. Evidence for feedback was mixed, while collaboration or sharing was positively associated with flow in one study. Perceived usefulness and ease of use were generally associated with flow but represented learner evaluations rather than objective app features. Clear goals and challenge-skill balance were recurrent task-level correlates, and flow was associated with continuance intention, perceived learning, or satisfaction. Because the evidence was cross-sectional and predominantly self-reported, the findings indicate associations rather than causal feature effects.