The advantages and disadvantages of mobile apps for language learning

Mobile applications are all the rage. But how useful do language learners find them compared to traditional language software? In this article, I report the main findings of a survey I recently conducted on student perception of mobile apps for language learning.

The survey was conducted among users of a French language and dictionary website, with a total of 290 respondents responding. From them:

• nearly a third (31%) reported using a mobile device to help with language learning;
• almost another third (30%) reported that they did not have a mobile device that could run applications;
• the remaining 39% reported that, although they owned a device capable of running applications, they did not use it to learn languages.

Whether or not they used their device to learn languages, all respondents were asked which of a number of features on mobile devices was a benefit for language learning. Among these, the clearest benefit perceived by respondents (56% agree) was that the apps promote “bite-size” learning: mobile apps are generally designed to be picked up over a short period of time without the need long periods of concentration.

Currently, respondents apparently do not perceive the use of applications as part of “general learning”, but this can be beneficial for them. Just over a third of respondents (38%) agreed that an advantage of the apps was that they allowed learning outside of school or another formal setting. A similar number (37%) saw a benefit in apps as an “additional means” of language practice to “help things sink in.” It will be interesting to see how these perceptions change as more mobile devices are adopted more widely in the classroom.

With the audio, visual, and touch interfaces available on today’s mobile devices, we might have found interactivity to be a benefit. But fewer respondents thought this was the case, and only 25% agreed with the statement “I find a more interactive mobile application.” This may be a message to application designers that they still need to work to make better use of the input and output functions of the devices.

With the median price of an educational app a few dollars (and increasing downward pressure on app prices), one might have expected the low app price to be perceived as a benefit. Perhaps surprisingly, users did not find price to be a key factor – only 22% of respondents agreed that the lower price of applications compared to regular software was a benefit.

This survey has provided an initial picture of trends in user perception and experience of using mobile applications for language learning. In particular, users seem to appreciate the benefits of mobile apps as a bite-sized extracurricular learning medium. On the other hand, it seems that they are not yet fully benefiting from the possible interactive features of mobile devices.