Sharing Economy in the CSL Classroom: mLang—A New Approach of Using IT to Assist Second Language Learning

Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners mainly rely on their teachers and pre-designed textbooks to learn the language. However, due to their diversified language proficiency and learning interests, teachers may find it hard to meet each student’s needs, stimulate learning motivation, or accelerate learning progress. Inspired by crowdfunding and sharing economy concepts, we created “mLang”, an e-learning platform and pedagogy that facilitates CSL teaching and learning by associating students’ life experiences and creativity with the learning topics. Students create mLang cards based on the topic they are learning by taking or downloading photos they like, audio-recording their verbal descriptions and writing down vocabulary as homework. After being checked by the teacher with students making necessary corrections, students’ mLang cards are “crowdfunded” as co-developed learning materials and “shared” among the class for higher-level learning activities. Research findings revealed that students’ learning motivation and CSL proficiency improved significantly after using mLang and related pedagogies for one year. This chapter reports the design of mLang, the implementation of this online learning platform, and how the related pedagogies work.