Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as a field focuses on designing, implementing, and assessing effective uses of mobile devices for language learning. Research in MALL traces back to the personal digital assistants (PDAs) of the 90’s but gained momentum in the late 2000s with the advent of smartphones, which afforded immediate access to authentic language artifacts and audiences, contextual relevance, integration with the physical environment, and continuous learning opportunities outside formal settings (Kukulska-Hulme, J Learn Dev 6(2):116–129, 2019). Pegrum (Mobile learning: languages, literacies and cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) ranked “mobile” learning experiences from ones where the devices alone are mobile, to where learners are mobile and onto the entire learning experience being mobile. This distinction overlays four types of MALL approaches: tutorial MALL, involving instant feedback on a sequence of closed activities; content MALL, where mobile devices engage learners with authentic input; creation MALL, where devices connect learners to real audiences for language; and communication MALL, where devices facilitate information gap and problem-solving activities among language users in real-time. Despite evident challenges in research design and statistical analysis (Burston et al., ReCALL 36:22–39, 2024), MALL has proven to be effective for receptive and productive skills (Li, Lang Learn Technol 28:1–26, 2024, Mortazavi et al., Sustainability 13:6328, 2021)) with vocabulary being the most tested area (Tommerdahl et al., Comput Assist Lang Learn 37(3):333–362, 2022, Burston, Mobile assisted language learning across educational contexts. Routledge, 2021). Tutorial MALL continues to be the most dominant practice in the field, but new uses of MALL incorporating generative AI and Augmented Reality (AR) for place-based learning show significant potential.