Evaluation of mobile applications in foreign language learning at early age

Year 2022, , 738 - 753, 30.09.2022

Yalın Kılıç Türel , Enejan Davudova

https://doi.org/10.31681/jetol.1158662

Abstract

In the technology era that we are in, teaching with traditional method is not sufficient alone in increasing efficiency. Varied content, whether technological or not, has an important place to increase the effectiveness of teaching. The methods and models used in the selection and usage of these contents are also considered important in terms of achieving the targeted success. In this study, the effects of mobile applications used in foreign language learning were examined on students' academic achievement. A total of 87 students from the Experiment-1 (E1), Experiment-2 (E2) and Control (C) groups consist of the sampling of this study. The English Achievement Test (EAT) was applied to all three groups as pretest and posttest. C group has attended to the regular face-to-face classroom teaching while students in E1 and E2 groups additionally used Duolingo and Memrise, respectively. In addition, volunteer parents and students’ opinions about mobile applications were received after the implementation. In line with the results obtained by comparing the groups with respect to each other, it was concluded that the E2 group obtained higher scores from EAT than the E1 and C group. Particularly, there is a higher increase in the average score in the "Reading and Writing" section of the E2 group. According to the opinions of students and parents, both applications can be said to improve academic success positively.

Keywords

Mobile application, m-learning, foreign language, foreign language learning, primary school

References

• Ajisoko, P. (2020). The use of Duolingo apps to improve English vocabulary learning. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(7), 149-155. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i07.13229
• Affandi, M. H., & Syafi’i, A. (2018). Memrise As A Builder Students Vocabulary. Efektor, 5(1), 32-38. https://doi.org/10.29407/e.v5i1.11921
• Aggarwal, R., & Ganvir, S. S. (2021). Artificial intelligence in physiotherapy. Physiotherapy-The Journal of Indian Association of Physiotherapists, 15(2), 55. https://doi.org/10.4103/pjiap.pjiap_3_22
• Arslan, M. U., & Akbarov, A. (2012). EFL Learners Perceptions and Attitudes towards English for the Specific Purposes. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 5(4), 25-30.
• Arıfın, I. (2020). The Effectıveness Of Memrıse Applıcatıon And Tınycards By Duolıngo Applıcatıon To Teach Adjectıve (A Quasy Experımental Research At The 11th Grade Students Of Sma Kartıka Iıı-1 Banyubıru In The Academıc Year Of 2019/2020).
• Atay, E. (2020). The efficiency of mobile assisted language learning (MALL) in vocabulary learning (Master's thesis, İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Institude of Social Sciences, Department of English Language Teaching)
• Bezircilioğlu, S. (2016). Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Journal of Educational and instructional studies in the world, 6.
• Botero, G. G., & Questier, F. (2019). What Students Think And What They Actually Do in a Mobile Assisted Language Learning Context: New İnsights For Self-Directed Language Learning İn Higher Education. CALL communities and culture–short papers from EUROCALL 2016 Edited by Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous, Linda Bradley, and Sylvie Thouësny, 150. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016.eurocall2016.553
• Bradley, L., Lindström, N. B., & Hashemi, S. S. (2017). Integration And Language Learning Of Newly Arrived Migrants Using Mobile Technology. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2017(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/ jime.434
• Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2014). Karma yöntem araştırmaları – tasarımı ve yürütülmesi (Çev. Ed. S.B. Demir). Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık. [Mixed methods research-design and execution, Ankara: Anı Publising]
• Crystal, D. (2012). English as a global language. Cambridge university press.
• Ekıncı, E. (2020). Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) As a Foreign Language Aid: A Literature Review. Pearson Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 5(9), 152-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.46872/pj.186
• Elverici, S. E. (2021). Mobile Technologies for Education: Attitudes To Social Media. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 5(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v5i3.3519
• Eshankulovna, R. A. (2021). Modern technologies and mobile apps in developing speaking skill. Linguistics and Culture Review, 5(S2), 1216-1225. https://doi.org/10.21744/lingcure.v5nS2.1809
• Falah, M. N. (2020). Explorıng Whatsapp As Mobıle Instant Messagıng In Facılıtatıng Students’speakıng Skıll (Doctoral Dissertation, Unıversıtas Islam Negerı).
• Fauzi, C. (2020). The Impact of the Whole Language Approach Towards Children Early Reading and Writing in English. Jurnal Pendidikan Usia Dini, 14(1), 94-108. https://doi.org/10.21009/JPUD.141.07
• Haristiani, N., & Rifai, M. M. (2021). Chatbot-based application development and implementation as an autonomous language learning medium. Indonesian Journal of Science and Technology, 6(3), 561-576. http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/ijost.v6i3.39150
• Hidayati, T., & Diana, S. (2019). Students’motıvatıon To Learn Englısh Usıng Mobıle Applıcatıons: The Case Of Duolıngo And Hello Englısh. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 6(2), 189-213. https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v6i2.1233
• Juliana, R. (2021). WhatsApp and English Learning: Students’ Perceptions and Challenges in Pandemic Era. JL3T (Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching), 7(1), 52-61. https://doi.org/10.32505/jl3t.v7i1.2803
• Kadızade, E. (2015). Yabancılara Türkçe Öğretiminde Akıllı Telefon Uygulamaları Üzerine İnceleme. Akademik Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 10, 742-752. [An Investigation on Smart Phone Applications in Teaching Turkish to Foreigners. Academic Journal of Social Studies] http://dx.doi.org/10.16992/ASOS.574
• Kessler, M. (2021). Supplementing mobile-assisted language learning with reflective journal writing: a case study of Duolingo users’ metacognitive awareness. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1968914
• Küçük, M. (2006). Okul Öncesinde Yabancı Dil Eğitimi Konusunda Eğitimcilerin Ve Ailelerin Görüşleri. Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi. [Opinions of Educators and Families on Preschool Foreign Language Education. Unpublished Master Thesis]
• Luczak, A. (2017). Using Memrise İn Legal English Teaching. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 49(1), 141-152. : http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/slgr-2017-0009
• Liu, Y. (2020). Application of Mobile Learning in College English Teaching Under the Background of “Internet+”. In Innovative Computing (pp. 275-281). Springer, Singapore.
• Mardiah, S. M., Suharsih, S., & Hamidiyah, A. (2022, June). The Use of Memrise Application in Teaching Speaking Skill: A Case Study Of 7th Grade Students of SMPN 1 Mandalawangi. In UNCLLE (Undergraduate Conference on Language, Literature, and Culture) (Vol. 2, No. 01, pp. 489-492).
• Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. sage.
• Öz, H. (2013). Mobil Öğrenme, Mobil Dil Öğrenme. II. Ulusal Yabancı Dil Çalıştayı Bildirileri. [Mobile Learning, Mobile Language Learning. II. Proceedings of the National Foreign Language Workshop] http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/2.1.4122.3366
• Putra, M. A. M., & Santosa, M. H. (2020). Mobile assisted language learning in Intensive English Course for freshmen year students. Journal of Education Technology, 4(2), 127-132. http://dx.doi.org/10.23887/jet.v4i2.25097
• Sarıtepeci, M., & Çakır, H. (2017, June). Examining perceived satisfaction related to the digital storytelling process. In EdMedia+ Innovate Learning (pp. 1139-1144). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
• Şendağ, S., Gedik, N., Caner, M., & Toker, S. (2017). Mobil-Yoğun-Podcast Dinlemenin İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının Dinleme, Konuşma Ve Eleştirel Düşünme Becerilerine Etkisi. Eğitim Teknolojisi Kuram ve Uygulama [The Effect of Mobile-Intensive-Podcast Listening on English Teacher Candidates' Listening, Speaking and Critical Thinking Skills. Educational Technology Theory and Practice] 7(2), 94-122. https://doi.org/10.17943/etku.280176
• Tılıç, G. (2016). Yabancı Dil Öğreniminde Kullanılan Etkileşimli Mobil Uygulamalar: Duolingo Örneği. Eğitim ve Öğretim Araştırmaları Dergisi, [Interactive Mobile Applications Used in Foreign Language Learning: Duolingo Example. Journal of Education and Training Research] 5.
• Todoranova, L., Nacheva, R., Sulov, V., & Penchev, B. (2020). A model for mobile learning integration in higher education based on students’ expectations.
• Wagner, E. (2020). Duolingo english test, revised version july 2019. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(3), 300-315.
• Walker, L. (2015). The İmpact Of Using Memrise On Student Perceptions Of Learning Latin Vocabulary And On Long-Term Memory Of Words. Journal of Classics Teaching, 16(32), 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631015000148
• Wu, X. (2021, August). A Study on College English Teaching Reform Based on The Integration of Computer Network and Foreign Language Courses. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1992, No. 3, p. 032031). IOP Publishing.
• Zhou, Z. (2021). A Systematic Literature Review on the use of Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) for Enhancing Speaking Skills in Chinese EFL context. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology, 3(15). https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2021.031502