Improving students’ creativity in familiar versus unfamiliar mobile-assisted language learning environments

Fifty-one learning strategies were developed and validated in this study to make language learners more knowledgeable about unfamiliar environments. The study tested the effectiveness of the strategies in improving the creativity of students. 75 university students participated in the study and they were divided into three groups: (1) students who learned in unfamiliar learning environments without familiarization strategies; (2) students who learned in unfamiliar learning environments and used familiarization strategies; and (3) students who learned in familiar learning environments. All students learned vocabulary, grammar, sentence patterns and how to write descriptive essays in class. After class, they applied newly learned knowledge by describing people, objects and situations in the real world using mobile devices. The content of students' essays was compared across three groups and the results showed that students in Group 2 and Group 3 had better creativity scores than students in Group 1. The results indicated that students' creativity is affected by their familiarity with the environment. Therefore, it is suggested that student familiarization with learning sites needs to be considered when designing learning activities in the real world. Educators should provide familiarization strategies to students when learning in unfamiliar learning environments.