The Determinants of Use and Acceptance of Mobile Assisted Language Learning: The Case of EFL Students in Morocco

The intent of this paper is to research the factors that determine students' acceptance of mobile assisted language learning (MALL) in Morocco. This study emphasizes the inclusive character of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). After careful assessment of the multiple relationships within UTAUT, a modified version of the theory was hypothesized then researched for the impact it has on the English as Foreign Language (EFL) context in Morocco. The technology acceptance model in this paper emphasized four directions connecting performance expectancy, effort expectancy, teacher feedback and compatibility to behavioral intention, also referred to as the determinants of behavioral intention to use MALL. For the purpose of this study, a technology enhanced environment was created. A total number of 156 EFL common core students were brought to interact on a WhatsApp-based platform by means of text-messaging. The WhatsApp treatment was optimized to synchronize with the institutionalized character of the teaching of English in Moroccan public schools. The questionnaire method was used for data collection. The data were screened for missingness, normality and outliers. Then, multiple reliability and validity tests were performed to substantiate the legitimacy of the dataset. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in the assessment of the measurement model and the structural model. The outputs of structural modelling corroborated the hypothesized directions connecting teacher feedback and compatibility to behavioral intention to use MALL while there was lack of support for the relationships linking performance expectancy and effort expectancy to behavioral intention to use MALL.