Using mobile phones for vocabulary activities: Examining the effect of platform

By Glenn Stockwell. Language Learning & Technology, 2010

487 citations recorded by the source corpus.

While problems such as small screens and inconvenient keypads have been pointed out by researchers (e.g., Thornton & Houser, 2002), we still have little knowledge of how the mobile platform affects the way in which activities are completed and how learners make decisions about using mobile phones. Stockwell (2007b) provided preliminary evidence that learners generally require more time to complete vocabulary activities and achieved slightly lower scores on mobile phones when compared to completing the same activities on desktop computers, but data in the study were limited. The current study examines 175 pre-intermediate learners of English who could choose to complete vocabulary activities on either a mobile phone or a desktop computer to identify the effect of the mobile platform. Data were collected from three cohorts of learners over a three-year period, and learner activity was analysed for the amount of time required to complete activities on both platforms and the scores they achieved for the activities. The results of the study are discussed in terms of how the platform affects learners’ ability to complete tasks, whether continued usage contributes to improved performance or sustained usage of the mobile platform over time. Trends across the yearly cohorts were also identified.

Subfields: Education, Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6694be65f07734f01862b25380fe388546ce6d9f

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Education

1. W. Wu
2. Jun Scott Chen Hsieh
3. Di Zou
4. M. Amiryousefi
5. Ruofei Zhang

In Information Systems

1. Di Zou
2. Ruofei Zhang
3. M. Amiryousefi

In Human-Computer Interaction

1. Michael W. Marek
2. W. Wu
3. Jun Scott Chen Hsieh

Citations in the corpus

• Using the flipped classroom to enhance EFL learning (2017, background): “…and mobileassisted language learning (MALL) (Amer, 2014; Chen, Hsieh, & Kinshuk, 2008; Kahari, 2013; Kiernan & Aizawa, 2004; Stockwell, 2013), including specifically in the field of English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction (Kukulska-Hulme, 2009; Saran & Sefero glu, 2010; Stockwell, 2010).”