Status and Trends of Mobile Learning in English Language Acquisition: A Systematic Review of Mobile Learning from Chinese Databases

Mobile learning has become the potential for innovation and disruption in the last decade. This study reviewed Chinese scholarly publications related to mobile learning research and published related to teaching and learning English in China’s higher education. Its purpose is to enrich systematic reviews for digital education with the provision of mobile learning research in China’s context with academic findings inaccessible to those who do not speak Chinese. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) principles are used to provide a transparent synthesis of extant studies. Major findings include that English learning has made progress in teaching strategy, pedagogical practice, and teaching model related to mobile technology, but a concern emerges in how teachers integrate technology into pedagogy appropriately to achieve the outcome beyond traditional teaching. The findings suggest further studies to analyse teachers’ needs in disruptive education in China.