CULTURALLY RELEVANT MOBILE-ASSISTED ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING MODULE FOR PAKISTANI UNDERGRADUATE HEALTHCARE STUDENTS

Abstract

It is argued in the present study that culturally relevant, evidence-grounded module design constitutes a necessary condition for effective Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in professional English for Specific Purposes (ESP) contexts, and that the Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology provides the appropriate framework for translating empirically documented needs into a validated educational product. This paper reports the design, development, and expert validation of a Mobile-Assisted English Language Teaching (MAELT) module for undergraduate healthcare students at Pakistani medical institutions. The module was designed through the ADDIE instructional design model nested within DBR, with the Four-D model providing the validation architecture. Nine non-negotiable design commitments, each traceable to at least two independent data sources from a preceding N=200 needs analysis, governed every design decision. Expert validation was conducted across two rounds by a ten-member specialist panel using the 45-item Expert Validation Scale (EVS). The overall Round 1 mean was 2.90/4.00 with a Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.72, indicating that substantial revision was required; the overall Round 2 mean improved to 3.67/4.00 with CVI=0.90 following 21 documented revisions, indicating that all five dimensions met the required standards. Pilot testing with N=30 students at Shalimar Medical College (SMDC) Lahore, confirmed feasibility and produced six further targeted revisions. Furthermore, the validated module is argued to constitute the first culturally embedded, AI-assisted MALL resource specifically designed for Pakistani healthcare ESP, grounded in multi-instrument needs analysis, and validated to the standard required for experimental deployment.