Page 23 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 23
Background to LanGuide Language-Learning Framework
fact, the mobile apps regularly offer a limited selection of the resources
provided on their respective eLearning platforms. Some apps offer to focus
on a single language (for example Slonline for Slovenian, Flax for English)
and still combine the use of mobile devices with web platforms.
The great majority of resources for mLearning offer language learners
collections of exercises organized in a systematic way, i. e., complete lan-
guage courses focusing on the essential knowledge of grammar and vocab-
ulary, broadly following the main structure of textbooks for different levels
of mastery of individual languages. Due to somewhat limited possibilities
of interaction offered by the devices (e.g. multiple-choice exercises, drag-
and-drop exercises, quizzes, gap-fill exercises, jumbled-sentence exercises
and similar), the exercises tend to be somewhat repetitive, while offering
almost the same topics, vocabulary and grammar content. They provide
practice into developing the four skills, i.e., listening, reading, speaking
and writing skills. The learning approach suggested seems to be above all
based on constant repetition and recycling in order to help memorize a set
of vocabulary items or grammatical features or even entire sentences. They
do not provide any explicit grammatical explanations, expecting learners
to deduce the principles of grammar on their own. Some mobile language-
learning apps provide a glossary of key vocabulary items included in the
language course (e.g. Slonline).
However, there are also some notable initiatives proposing alternative
options to virtual language learning on mobile apps. We found the ex-
ample of Babbel interesting, because it links the exercises on the mobile
app to the language courses held by experts on their web platform, so
that the mLearning part seems to be meant as an incentive spurring the
learner to engage with foreign language learning thoroughly on the web
extension. Beelinguapp also introduces a novel approach by focusing only
on developing reading and listening skills in a foreign language. The mo-
bile app proposes to listen to a series of audiobooks while also reading
the text with a bilingual side-by-side method, presented in the learner’s
mother tongue and in the target language. Moreover, an innovative ap-
proach is proposed by HelloTalk that declares to be a ‘social language learn-
ing platform’ and offers learners the opportunity to learn a language di-
rectly from native speakers by pairing individuals from different language
backgrounds, thus forming a community of language learners, who study
in a highly personalized manner with the support of a virtual tutor. The
mobile app and the respective web site take advantage of affordances pre-
sented by the new technologies, such as interaction on video platforms,
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fact, the mobile apps regularly offer a limited selection of the resources
provided on their respective eLearning platforms. Some apps offer to focus
on a single language (for example Slonline for Slovenian, Flax for English)
and still combine the use of mobile devices with web platforms.
The great majority of resources for mLearning offer language learners
collections of exercises organized in a systematic way, i. e., complete lan-
guage courses focusing on the essential knowledge of grammar and vocab-
ulary, broadly following the main structure of textbooks for different levels
of mastery of individual languages. Due to somewhat limited possibilities
of interaction offered by the devices (e.g. multiple-choice exercises, drag-
and-drop exercises, quizzes, gap-fill exercises, jumbled-sentence exercises
and similar), the exercises tend to be somewhat repetitive, while offering
almost the same topics, vocabulary and grammar content. They provide
practice into developing the four skills, i.e., listening, reading, speaking
and writing skills. The learning approach suggested seems to be above all
based on constant repetition and recycling in order to help memorize a set
of vocabulary items or grammatical features or even entire sentences. They
do not provide any explicit grammatical explanations, expecting learners
to deduce the principles of grammar on their own. Some mobile language-
learning apps provide a glossary of key vocabulary items included in the
language course (e.g. Slonline).
However, there are also some notable initiatives proposing alternative
options to virtual language learning on mobile apps. We found the ex-
ample of Babbel interesting, because it links the exercises on the mobile
app to the language courses held by experts on their web platform, so
that the mLearning part seems to be meant as an incentive spurring the
learner to engage with foreign language learning thoroughly on the web
extension. Beelinguapp also introduces a novel approach by focusing only
on developing reading and listening skills in a foreign language. The mo-
bile app proposes to listen to a series of audiobooks while also reading
the text with a bilingual side-by-side method, presented in the learner’s
mother tongue and in the target language. Moreover, an innovative ap-
proach is proposed by HelloTalk that declares to be a ‘social language learn-
ing platform’ and offers learners the opportunity to learn a language di-
rectly from native speakers by pairing individuals from different language
backgrounds, thus forming a community of language learners, who study
in a highly personalized manner with the support of a virtual tutor. The
mobile app and the respective web site take advantage of affordances pre-
sented by the new technologies, such as interaction on video platforms,
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