While mobile devices are gradually starting to play an important role in the everyday lives of students, learning English on mobile phones is no longer a novelty for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. While there is a wealth of literature that discusses the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in EFL education, studies on mobile assisted language learning (MALL) are still needed. This study aims to investigate the end-user's perception of MALL through cross-cultural analyses. Forty-five participants (n = 45) from seven different countries/regions voluntarily participated in this project. Cross-cultural analyses were conducted with three proposed constructs: technological affordances, applicability and the constructivism of MALL. Results of the Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA and Dunnett's T3 multiple comparison revealed that significant differences did exist among participants with different cultural backgrounds. Even so, all participants agreed that MALL is a potential tool for constructivism in EFL learning.

This study examines EFL (English as a foreign Language) teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and how such knowledge affects the adoption of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). A total of 158 in-service Taiwanese English teachers were surveyed. Two frameworks were employed to examine latent constructs: TPACK and the technology acceptance model (TAM). Descriptive statistics showed that among TPACK variables, technological pedagogical knowledge possessed the highest mean score. In terms of TAM, EFL teachers scored continuous usage (CU) highest, therefore implying that they were keen to use MALL in their lessons. The partial least square approach was applied to identify structural relationships between the proposed variables; it revealed that TPACK significantly affected both perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU). Furthermore, PEU significantly affected PU, which was shown to have a significant effect on both attitude toward use (ATU) and CU. The mediation effects of PU on the relationship between PEU and ATU, as well as CU, were also confirmed. Hence, TPACK was critical to MALL's adoption, and its PU was pivotal to teachers’ attitudes toward and continued use of it.

The Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) is a new platform of computer assisted language learning (CALL); since most LMOOCs witness high dropout rates, empirical evidence on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ motivation to accept and utilize LMOOCs for English language learning is warranted. This study recruited 237 Taiwanese participants with experience in completing at least one LMOOC to answer question items based on the levels of three psychological needs (i.e. autonomy, competence, and relatedness) of self-determination theory (SDT) as well as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to explore the structural relationship between the variables of SDT and UTAUT. Additionally, linear modelling was employed to test the moderating effect of motivation on the relationship between the four determinants of UTAUT, behavioural intention, and use behaviour. The results of this study report that autonomy, competence, and relatedness are significant to EFL learners’ motivation for using LMOOCs. However, while performance expectancy was not statistically significant to behavioural intention, effort expectancy and social influence were. Moreover, behavioural intention and facilitating conditions were significant to use behaviour, while motivation was a significant predictor of LMOOC use behaviour. However, the moderating effect of motivation was only significant to the relationship between the variables of social influence and behavioural intention.

Halal tourism is pushed by the growth of the Muslim population worldwide. This present study aimed to examine the association between constructs of halal-friendly attributes, perceived value, destination trust, and visit intention and investigate the mediation effect of perceived value and destination trust in Muslims’ visit intention. The SOR (stimulus–organism–response) model was employed, and halal-friendly attributes were investigated as a stimulus that impacts Muslims’ perceived value and destination trust (organism) and leads to visit intention (response). These data were gathered from a sample of 307 Muslims. This study examined the proposed conceptual framework via PLS-SEM. The findings of this present study reveal the impact of halal-friendly attributes on perceived value and destination trust and the mediating role of perceived value and destination trust in the relationship between environmental factors (i.e., halal-friendly attributes) and visit intention in a non-Islamic country. This study’s original contribution is that it explores the antecedents of environmental factors by examining the extended S–O–R model in a halal.

This study aims to explore the structural relationships among the variables of EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' perceptual learning styles and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Three hundred and forty-one (n = 341) EFL learners were invited to join a self-regulated English pronunciation training program through automatic speech recognition (ASR) computer system. Participants were asked to actively undertake the interactions with ASR-based computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) on a daily basis for three months. They were directed to finish a questionnaire on their perceptual learning style and technology acceptance. The collected data were analysed with descriptive statistics and structural equation model to investigate the structural relationships. Results show that most participants were visual learners; furthermore, no significant relationship between any type of perceptual learning style and perceived usefulness was discovered. Visual style as well as kinaesthetic style was found to be significantly influential to perceived ease of use which further significantly led to perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness was significantly related to attitude of using the system that was decisive to EFL learners' continuing use of ASR-based CAPT.

Purpose: Music has a priming effect on product selection. The purpose of this paper is to extend the current understanding on this issue using an experimental design incorporating behavioural and brainwave data. Design/methodology/approach: An experiment with 40 participants was conducted to explore how and why wine tasting preferences would be primed by different genres of musical stimuli. Electroencephalographic measurement was adopted to measure participant brainwave activity in two experiments, each involving two rounds of wine tasting, and the treatment was administered between the two rounds. Findings: Significant associations between the musical stimulus genre and participant change in wine selection were found, and the musical stimuli resulted in different brainwave activities because participant β and γ wave activities significantly differed in the first and second wine tasting rounds. Correlational analyses indicated that α, β and γ wave activities generated by the musical stimuli were significantly but negatively correlated with α wave activity. α wave activity in the musical stimulus phases was significantly negatively correlated with β wave activity in the second round of wine tasting, and the other associations were significant and positive. Originality/value: This study highlighted the priming effect of musical stimuli in wine tasting. Empirical evidence derived from experimental research was analysed with behavioural and brainwave data. This study’s original contribution is that it explored wine tasting preferences from a neuromarketing perspective. The results of this study can provide empirical evidence on how to effectively use music in marketing strategies.