We live in a world that the mobile technology develops at so fast speed that we have difficulty following. In only a few years the mobile market has changed drastically with the advent of smartphones with android system and Apple products with iOS system such as iPad and iPhone, and the number of people that own these kinds of devices is growing at a fast rate especially among young people.
With the popularization of mobile technology and the explosion of apps, pupils at school can use mobile apps to improve their English ability. While there is considerable enthusiasm for using apps to support learning with their multimedia capabilities, portability, connectivity, and flexibility, there is a paucity of research evidence about whether such approach can facilitate English learning for college students and what students’ attitudes are towards the new approach. Besides, there is a lack of research about which apps are good and suitable for them in specific aspects of English studies, such as spoken English, reading comprehension, listening or writing.
With the mobile devices, a new market of application software called Mobile App has appeared and is growing at an incredible speed. Apps are easily available online, and there are two App stores: iTunes App store and Android Market. ITunes App store offers over 700.000 apps available to consumers, while there are over 675.000 apps on Android Market. Among this incredible number of apps, there are a large number of apps relating to English learning for Ukrainian pupils.
First of all, it should be underlined that a mobile app, as a computer program, is designed to run on mobile phones, tablet computers (like iPad) and other mobile devices. The word "app" is a shortening of the term "application software". Mobile apps have become very popular among college students. Almost all of them download apps on their mobile devices.
The research was made and its results showed that over 50 percentage of pupils spent over three hours on various apps by using their mobile devices every day. The research also reflected that the main purposes of college students using mobile apps was entertainment (28.1%), communication (22.1%) and learning (26.2%). The data indicated that students preferred to use apps to learn.
Nowadays resources play an important role in language education. In language education, materials are essential part of the learning and teaching processes, while in traditional classroom settings, materials are mainly text-based and static. However, it will make no difference, if just text-based materials such as PDF or Word documents are used in online English resources. Multimedia elements are added into English learning resources, which can be regarded as a necessary part.
According to top apps ranking I summarized top apps which Ukrainian pupils use:
1. Duolingo: Possibly one of the most popular apps out there, Duolingo comes highly recommended for beginners. With just 20 minutes every day, you can learn English little by little by playing short games. Based on different topics, you can learn up to seven new words per topic and you gain skill points after completion of lessons.
2. Memrise: The focus of Memrise is to learn English words, more than anything else. But its particularity is that it uses humour to help you memorise the words in question. Surely, if something is funny, you will be sure to remember it better. The Memrise courses are also created and designed by other users like yourself, which makes it a really friendly, true-to-form experience.
3. Learn English through Videos: Learn English with videos is suitable for all levels of English - Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced and it's designed APK size very light and completely free, just keep learning English daily with the video about 30 minutes you will feel that study English is easy and fun.
4. BBC Learning English: Watch or listen to each programme without using the text support. Then watch or listen again using the built-in transcripts and subtitles. Once you've practised your listening and reading skills, use the quizzes to test your understanding. The app will remember your scores so you can keep trying until you get the result you want.
5. LearnEnglish Grammar (UK edition): Practise sample questions at Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced level. Each set of sample questions covers 12 grammar topics, with over 20 activities per topic. Purchase and download more questions as your grammar accuracy improves!
6. HelloTalk: a social language-learning app where pupils can chat with native English speakers through text, voice, or video messages. It helps improve conversational skills.
To summarize information described above І would like to say that the easy availability of apps on mobile devices means that pupils are increasingly turning to online resources for learning. When encouraging pupils know how to best use mobile apps for their English learning, it’s important to emphasize critical thinking, and being able to evaluate different sources.
REFERENCES
1. Andersen, I. 2013, Mobile Apps for Learning English. A Review of 7 Complete English Course Apps: Characteristics, Similarities and Differences”.
2. Cheng Wei-Chung 2020, “The Effectiveness of Mobile Apps in Enhancing English Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis”, Educational Technology Research and Development.
3. Mohamed A. El-Banna, Salwa S. Samy 2023, “The Role of Mobile Applications in Developing English Speaking Skills: A Systematic Review”, Journal of Language Teaching and Research.
4. Nichols, M. 2003, “A Theory for e-learning”, Educational Technology & Society, vol. 6, no. 2, ISSN 1436-4522, pp. 1-10.
5. Zhenhua Li, Yuqi Wang 2024, “AI-Powered Language Learning Apps and Their Impact on English Learners: A Case Study”, Educational Technology & Society.
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