Technology-Driven Framework for College English Courses: If and How Mobile-Assisted Collaborative Language Learning Affects EFL Student Engagement

English is a vital tool for global communication and development, and also a compulsory course for college English as a foreign language (EFL) students. College students as the backbone of social development whose English proficiency is worth noting. Up to now, much research has empowered language learning by technology, which shows its effectiveness but does not solve the problem of less engagement. Student engagement is a crucial aspect of educational activities and has a significant impact on learning outcomes. Thus, this study combined mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) with collaborative learning (CL) to create a framework of mobile-assisted collaborative language learning (MACLL) special for college English courses. A quantitative quasi-experiment was applied to ascertain if and how MACLL affected students’ behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Thirty-two participants in the treatment group employed collaborative learning with assigning four in each group and thirty-two in the control group used individual learning. The results indicated that MACLL had a positive effect on student engagement. Moreover, MACLL developed students’ engagement in seven aspects from three dimensions. To be specific, flexible learning model, timely feedback, and technology assistance improved behavioural engagement; learning interest and positive individual enhanced emotional engagement; interaction and collaborative learning environment promoted cognitive engagement. This study is expected to provide a more effective and interactive language learning framework to advance college students’ English proficiency.