Learning English Speaking through Mobile-Based Role-Plays: The Exploration of a Mobile English Language Learning App called Engage

[EN] Engage is a new form of mobile application that connects students studying English with teachers in real-time via their smartphones. Students receive target language through preparation dialogues, and then apply it to a role-play with a teacher. The conceptualization and development of Engage f...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Yang, Bowen, Zhou, Shijun, Ju, Weijie
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/138525
Acesso em linha:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/138525
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)
User-centred design
Role-play
Descrição
Resumo:[EN] Engage is a new form of mobile application that connects students studying English with teachers in real-time via their smartphones. Students receive target language through preparation dialogues, and then apply it to a role-play with a teacher. The conceptualization and development of Engage follows the user-centred design approach; and the product was built through multiple iterations: in the first iteration, students were invited to try out a paper mock-up; in the second iteration, students tried out a mobile prototype; in the external test, a fully functional application was released to App Store between October 25 and November 20, 2012, and 326 users downloaded it. The application was well-received by these test users, reflected in the post-study survey, student ratings, and students’ usage records. The external tests proved that the technical environment of the application was feasible for production; and the operationalization of the teacher service and cost model were also proven to be feasible and scalable.