The Use of Mobile Applications to Learn English: an Empirical Study and a Proposal

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Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres

Memòria del Treball de Fi de Grau

The Use of Mobile Applications to Learn English: an Empirical Study and a Proposal.

Angela Ramos Blanco Grau d’Estudis Anglesos

Any acadèmic 2020-21

DNI de l’alumne: 78221765F

Treball tutelat per Yolanda Joy Calvo Benzies

Departament de Filologia Espanyola, Moderna i Clàssica

S'autoritza la Universitat a incloure aquest treball en el Repositori Institucional per a la seva consulta en accés obert i difusió en línia, amb finalitats exclusivament acadèmiques i d'investigació

Autor Tutor Sí No Sí No

Paraules clau del treball:

Mobile Learning, Apps, Students’ Opinions, Learning English, Education

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Abstract

Smartphone applications are currently used in all areas of life, including education. People started to use apps to learn foreign languages, specifically English due to its increasing importance. This paper aims at establishing the profile of students who use apps to learn English, how these learners use the apps, and why. It explores whether the use of apps have advantages or disadvantages for learning English, and to what extent applications can substitute teachers. In order to determine the above-mentioned aspects, a survey was distributed to different sectors of society. Although respondents considered apps a beneficial tool to learn English autonomously, there are a great deal of drawbacks that should be taken into consideration. Therefore, this paper will provide a theoretical representation of an idyllic app taking into account the demands of the survey’s respondents.

Key words

Mobile Learning, Apps, Students’ Opinions, Learning English, Education

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Table of Figures

Figure 1. Participant's level of English... 6

Figure 2. Percentage of participants that possess a certificate proving their level of English. .. 7

Figure 3. Type of certificate users possess. ... 7

Figure 4. The place where the participants learnt English. ... 8

Figure 5. Student’s exposure to the foreign language. ... 8

Figure 6. Percentage of participants who are currently studying English. ... 9

Figure 7. Participant's answers whether one can learn English by using an app or not. ... 10

Figure 8. Representation of the number of participants who have or have not used an app to learn English. ... 10

Figure 9. Different apps used by the participants to learn English. ... 10

Figure 10. Apps known by the participants who have not used an app to learn English. ... 11

Figure 11. Reasons why participants started using an app. ... 12

Figure 12. Frequency of app usage. ... 12

Figure 13. Percentage of participants who have considered apps helpful to learn English. .... 12

Figure 14. Depiction of students who do not use apps but consider using one to learn English. ... 13

Table of Images

Image 1. Cover of the free subscription. ... 15

Image 2. Example of how the app would present the exercises. ... 17

Image 3. Example of how the theory would be presented in the app. ... 17

Image 4. Prototype of the forum. ... 17

Image 5. Cover of the premium subscription. ... 18

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1. Introduction

The importance of English in our society is undeniable; for the past decade, English has become the world’s most powerful language in all social areas from tourism to the entertainment industry. English is the language that people use to communicate with others whose mother tongue is different; it is also the one used for travelling; thus, speaking English has become a fundamental requisite in almost every society. For instance, a great deal of the population in the Balearic Islands, where the main economic activity proceeds from tourism, started to study English to find a better job position. This growing enthusiasm in learning English was not only a phenomenon occurring in the Balearic Islands but in almost all places of the world. Due to its importance in all aspects of life, English has also made its way into other academic areas such as education. The majority of schools have introduced English as a Second Language (ESL) in their curriculum: all students under the age of sixteen in Spain study an English subject every year; hence, institutions have contributed to the expansion of English as a lingua franca. There has also been an increasing appearance of academies that teach foreign languages, in particular English. These academies, which can be state or private establishments, allow people from all ages to study English: adults and children have started to learn the language massively.

Furthermore, the appearance of technological devices and the Internet have made possible the creation of platforms which offer online courses to learn English. These platforms were created to provide courses remotely for people who could not attend face-to-face lessons.

It could be said that technology has been revolutionising the world of education, and specifically, the learning methodologies. With the creation of applications for learning English, students have found themselves with enough material to start studying the foreign language autonomously. Most of these apps, indeed, offer a great variety of vocabulary and grammar exercises as well as games, quizzes, and chats. Smartphone applications have become a popular way to learn English since students acquire new knowledge without noticing it. Many studies have been carried out to see how these apps work and what effects they have on learning vocabulary and grammar. This paper will also contribute to understand not only the effectiveness but also the opinions that the general population has towards the apps.

The paper begins by contextualising the theme of the study; examining the different factors which contribute to the importance of English, and the studies related to apps to learn such language. It will then go on to present the data of the conducted study: the participants and the material used. It will continue presenting the results of the survey, and the answers provided

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by the participants. Furthermore, it will propose an app design with the users’ contributions.

Finally, the paper concludes by presenting a discussion of the results, and the limitations of the present study.

2. Literary Review

Technological devices have become the most powerful tools in the 21st century due to the fact that they let people access the Internet easily. In such an advanced world, the Internet has been important in all aspects of life including education considering that it “allows anyone to access educational resources anytime, anywhere” (Zhao and Liu 2019, 48). In fact, the Internet has helped English become one of the most important languages in the world (Wu and Huang 2017, 265). In other words, the development of English has increased thanks to the use of technologies not only for entertainment but also for teaching and learning English. Since it is considered a lingua franca (Jenkins 2009), a great deal of non-English countries have introduced ESL in education (Wu and Huang 2017, 265). Despite the fact that many students learn English, some of them have claimed that the learning of vocabulary and grammar is monotonous; thus, teachers have been indirectly forced to introduce new methods and strategies in the classroom (265).

It is a sensible idea to introduce some electronic devices in the classroom considering that the new generation of youngsters known as digital natives demand it (Prensky 2001, 1).

This generation of learners has grown up surrounded by technological devices (Prensky 2001, 1; Moustafa 2017, 45); consequently, they have been constantly exposed to digital technology, i.e., technological devices have become a significant portion of their lives (Georgina 2013, 51).

The use of technologies is an attraction for digital natives considering that they use a multiplicity of electronic devices daily such as game consoles, laptops and smartphones; these devices are not only used for entertainment but also to study since they prefer to learn on their own (Georgina 2013, 52; Moustafa 2017, 46). Despite the fact that they are more comfortable instructing themselves, teachers cannot be replaced rather they are obliged to find alternatives which make the learning process more appealing for the students. Even if educators might come up against many challenges, they will need to “train themselves on how to use these technologies” (Levy 2009, 777). It ought to be taken into consideration that “technology is there to serve language learning, not vice versa” (779); therefore, educators must learn how to introduce pedagogical knowledge by using these tools (Georgina 2013, 53). They are expected to propose alternative models to teach English in order to comply to the necessities of the learners (Dooly 2150); for that reason, educators are still extremely necessary because they are

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able to monitor the learning process and help students with the problems they might have inside and outside the classroom (Collinson 2001, 40). Although technological devices are requested in education, machines cannot substitute humans because “personality is a unique to human beings and plays an important role” (Zhao and Liu 2019, 49) in teaching. Taking all these aspects into consideration, if teachers want to have successful results in the classroom, they should start introducing different methods which adjust to the digital natives’ requirements (Georgina 2013, 54).

There are different types of electronic devices that can be helpful for educators to include in their teaching methodology, such as laptop computers, interactive whiteboards, and even mobile phones (Stockwell 2010, 95). Among the different technological devices, mobile phones should not be ignored since they suppose a source of inspiration and motivation for learners due to the attachment they have with these devices (Pachler et al. 2017, 341). Some of the qualities that students might benefit from smartphones are the “control over goals, ownership, fun, communication, learning-in-context and continuity between contexts” (66).

Nevertheless, many educators have preferred to use Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in teaching vocabulary because of the benefits that computers proportion learners such as dictionaries, online activities, games, etc. (Levy 2009, 771). In fact, the use of online games to learn vocabulary has appeared to be a successful strategy to increase the memorization and the potential of learners; therefore, such games have encouraged students to absorb more input than by using traditional methodologies (Wu and Huang 2017, 273). In Stockwell’s examinations, it was seen that students took extra time to finish the activities on the mobile phone in relation to those who completed them on a computer (Stockwell 2010, 106). Even if all learners successfully completed the activities, it is possible that the mobile phone entails a distraction for them (106). Stockwell concluded that students were equally successful in relation to the knowledge acquired despite the time taken; he also considered that the mobile phone is preferable because is the most comfortable and simplest device for students to adopt (109).

Although both of the aforementioned technological-based devices are being introduced in the language classroom, the type of resource which has been favoured in the last years to learn English is the usage of mobile apps (95).

It is thought that smartphone applications “have a lot of potential to support language learning” (Mindog 2016, 17) due to their easy accessibility and affordability (17). Research has demonstrated that mobile phones are the most effective device since students are familiarized with them, and they are not an expense for the institutions (Stockwell 2010, 95). Furthermore, apps have been found to support students in the process of learning English because they usually

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motivate learners since they are dynamic and satisfying, and they allow learners to see their advancements (Mindog 2016, 18). Not only have these educational apps been created to use in the classroom but there are also many apps which are accessible for anyone who wants to learn English, i.e., in a more autonomous way (Wang and Smith 2013, 119). For instance, Duolingo is one of the most popular apps to learn any language since it “claims to act as a private language tutor that provides individualized instruction” (Teske 2017, 394). It ought to be taken into account that Duolingo’s main exercise is to test students by translating words or sentences rather than by providing lessons (397). Instead of using real language, Duolingo presents vocabulary and grammar “in a decontextualized manner” (Gunter et al. 2016, 223). Conversely, Busuu introduces the knowledge progressively through different activities which facilitate the language learning (224). Babbel, which is a popular though not free app, also offers material, and tests to learn English with the possibility of advancing in the learning process (Godwin- Jones 2019, 8); however, this app does not include any games, which is something that Duolingo and Busuu include (Gunter et al. 219). Despite the fact that the above-mentioned mobile applications teach students vocabulary and grammar, HelloTalk uses a different method considering that it provides students with a chat section to speak with learners from other parts of the world; therefore, they learn English by engaging in relationships with other students (Vollmer 2017, 385). It must be highlighted that none of the aforementioned apps fairly expose students to the different skills needed to fully manage a language: moreover, they tend to include the same type of exercises throughout the whole learning process which can be demotivating since learners are not able to explore English in all its aspects.

It has been demonstrated that technology is not only helpful but necessary in English learning since it allows students to explore their skills while enjoying the lesson. Despite the fact that previous researchers have proved that games and apps may have beneficial results to learn English in a classroom context, none of them takes into consideration the use of apps outside the classroom, and the student’s opinions on the matter. Therefore, this paper will conduct a research to discover the percentage of people that use smartphone applications to learn English, and for what purposes the students use them. Furthermore, the purpose of the study is to analyse if learners consider these apps useful, and the qualities that the perfect app should have. The paper aims at answering the following research questions: Do people use apps to learn English voluntarily? Are they useful? What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning with a smartphone app? What does an app need to have to be useful to learn English?

And last, are educators necessary to teach English?

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3. Study

3.1 Research Material

The data were collected using a Google Forms’ questionnaire which was distributed in March of 2021. The following URL was sent to different groups of people by instant message:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hErUqY_a19P4esFwz4XmOU8NnCshoXLyRLm uD-L_l9U/edit. The presented survey was divided into three different sections: personal data, degree of exposure to English, and the use of apps to learn English. The first section of the questionnaire contained four multiple-choice questions to determine the profile of the individuals who were answering the survey: age, sex, place of residence and academic level.

The following section contained seven multiple choice questions regarding their level of English, the place where they learnt the language, and if they have used apps to learn it. If students had used apps to learn English, three questions were asked regarding the name of the app, the frequency of use and the reasons of using such app. However, if they had not used an app, they had to answer two more questions to determine if they were familiar with English learning apps. Finally, all participants had to answer two open-ended questions in which they could give their insights in the following matters: the advantages and disadvantages of using such platforms, and the best qualities that an app can have.

3.2 Participants

A hundred and eight people answered the survey. Out of these, 91.7% are from the Balearic Islands. Regarding age, 88.9% of them are between 20 and 30 years old. Indeed, 75.9% of the participants are women. It ought to be taken into consideration that most of the participants have a high level of education: 66% of them acknowledged being students of an undergraduate or master’s degree.

3.3. Data Analysis

Even if the users had to provide their email in order to respond the questionnaire, this paper will present the data anonymously, i.e, the information will be given in percentages. Google Forms collects the data of the multiple-choice questions into charts and graphs; consequently, the paper will present data in these forms. The open-ended questions are analysed from a spreadsheet provided by the platform.

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4. Results

The first part of the survey collected personal data to establish the profile of users who are answering the questionnaire. Once the participants answered the personal data, questions about their level of English were queried.

As can be inferred from Figure 1 below, half of the users claim to have an advanced level of English, whereas 34% of them believe to have an intermediate level, and only 16% of the participants acknowledged having a basic level. Their perception of having a high level of English could be due to their position in the educational system since, due to the introduction of the Bologna System, all university graduates must have a B2 level of English before completing their degree. The University of the Balearic Islands offers students two different ways to recognise this obligatory B2 level of English: a) with an official certificate by certain institutions; or, b) by passing an optional course within their university degree, commonly an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) subject. Despite the fact that the vast majority of our participants affirmed they have a high level of English, only half of them stated that they possess an official certificate to prove their level of English (Figure 2). More specifically, most of the participants with an official certificate possess a B2 or a C1 level which has been achieved through the Spanish national official school of languages, the British Council or the set of Cambridge exams (Figure 3).

Figure 1. Participant's level of English 16%

34%

50%

LEVEL OF ENGLISH

Basic Intermediate Advanced

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Figure 2. Percentage of participants that possess a certificate proving their level of English.

Figure 3. Type of certificate users possess.

Not only have they been asked to state their level of English but the place where they learnt the foreign language. Consequently, Figure 4 below shows that most of them have learnt most of their English in primary school and high school; 54 users also learnt English in the university, and 56 have autonomously learnt certain aspects of the language. It must be emphasised that not many participants have attended an academy or the Spanish national official school of languages; therefore, it could be claimed that they have learn most of their English during their years of obligatory education: in Spain, the majority of children have an obligatory English course every year from primary school to high school. As can be seen in Figure 5, most of the participants are in constant contact with English, which is not unusual

51% 49%

DO YOU POSSESS A CERTIFICATE?

Yes No

8%

46%

38%

8%

TYPE OF CERTIFICATE

B1 B2 C1 C2

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since English is perceived as a lingua franca in such a globalised world. Learners are constantly exposed to English in social media, i.e., this phenomenon could explain why even if most of them have a great deal of input, they are not currently studying an English course (Figure 6).

Figure 4. The place where the participants learnt English.

Figure 5. Student’s exposure to the foreign language.

0 20 40 60 80 100

School High School University Academy On my own

WHERE DID YOU LEARN ENGLISH?

Number of Participants

14% 60%

26%

EXPOSURE TO ENGLISH

Frequent Seldom I would like to dedicate more time

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Figure 6. Percentage of participants who are currently studying English.

After having collected general data related to their level of English, the survey’s last part presented questions about the use of apps to learn English. In fact, participants were asked to give specific and personalised answers in some of the questions. The open-ended questions related to the apps’ advantages and disadvantages will be seen at the end of this section;

however, the open-ended question regarding the idyllic app will be commented in section 5 of the paper.

As can be seen in Figure 7 below, only 4% of the respondents believe that one cannot learn English by using apps whilst 65% of them claim the opposite but believe there are limitations to this type of learning− these limitations will be furthered explained and analysed at the end of this section. As a matter of fact, 42% of the users admitted they have used or are currently using an app to learn English (Figure 8). As explained above, they were asked to mention which particular smartphone applications they have used with the aim of learning English; surprisingly, the app most of our participants have used has been Duolingo; apps such as Babbel, HelloTalk, Youtube or Twitter were also mentioned (Figure 9). Similarly, Figure 10 shows that those who did not use an app to learn English knew about the existence of Duolingo and Babbel; both of these apps have a great deal of learners, and Babbel is advertised in many platforms.

53%

47%

ARE YOU CURRENTLY STUDYING ENGLISH?

Yes No

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Figure 7. Participant's answers whether one can learn English by using an app or not.

Figure 8. Representation of the number of participants who have or have not used an app to learn English.

Figure 9. Different apps used by the participants to learn English.

31%

65% 4%

CAN SOMEONE LEARN ENGLISH BY USING AN APP?

Yes No Yes, but there are limitations

42%

58%

HAVE YOU USED AN APP TO LEARN ENGLISH?

Yes No

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Duolingo Babbel HelloTalk Others: Tandem, Youtube…

APPS USED

Apps Used

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Figure 10. Apps known by the participants who have not used an app to learn English.

The following figure (Figure 11) shows the reasons why users decided to use an app to learn English; they could choose more than one option. Most of them used the smartphone application to improve their English in general, and some to focus on vocabulary. However, it must be noted that a great deal of the participants used it to learn English on their own, which is one of the main assets that apps offer. It has been demonstrated that smartphone applications are a good alternative to learn vocabulary and grammar; conversely, only 7 participants used the app to improve their pronunciation, which illustrates that most participants are acquainted with the idea that apps have limited resources to become proficient in speaking. Despite the fact that they used apps because they had a clear goal, only a small percentage of users have used the app daily, i.e, most of them have used it weekly or even monthly (Figure 12). Eventually, Figure 12 below shows that 62% of the learners have had a successful experience with the apps;

and, 59% of the respondents who have never used an app to learn English contemplate the idea of using them. The rest of the learners are still reluctant to use this type of methodology to learn a language.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Duolingo HelloTalk Tandem Babbel Bussu None

DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE APPS?

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Figure 11. Reasons why participants started using an app.

Figure 12. Frequency of app usage.

Figure 13. Percentage of participants who have considered apps helpful to learn English.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Improve Vocabulary Improve Grammar Improve Pronunciation Improve my English

To learn on my own Others

WHY DID YOU USE AN APP TO LEARN ENGLISH?

7%

37%

54%

2%

FREQUENCY OF APP USAGE

Daily Weekly Monthly Hardy Ever

62%

38%

WAS THE APP HELPFUL?

Yes No

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Figure 14. Depiction of students who do not use apps but consider using one to learn English.

Both of the groups have provided different insights which answer one of the research questions concerning the benefits and downsides that apps offer. This section will not make any distinctions between the two groups since all the participants have contributed with their own arguments. The paper will, indeed, concentrate on the most repeated answers, and on those which arouse more interest for the study.

One of the main advantages of learning through apps for our participants is the fact that they are able to create their own schedule; that is, they can choose when and where they want to practise the foreign language. A number of subjects also highlighted the idea that apps are an easy and comfortable way of learning because they always have their mobile phones with them, and as a result, they simply need to open the app to learn English. Apart from these advantages, a great deal of the participants agreed on how they are cheaper than other alternative materials such as having a private teacher, and sometimes they are even completely free of charge. It should be considered that most of the respondents are young adults, and their incomes and schedules might be limited; hence, they tend to use apps because they are an affordable alternative to learn the foreign language. Participants consider that apps are useful to learn specific vocabulary because they can put into practise the vocabulary by using different strategies such as games, tests, quizzes, and even, chats to interact with other learners. However, they also realise that apps have limitations such as the lack exposure to real language. Therefore, apps might be an alternative to traditional learning methods since they provide students with a great variety of strategies; nevertheless, the students do not receive real input.

Despite these great advantages, most of them have agreed that it is troublesome to learn a language by only using an app. Even if they offer different strategies to learn the foreign

59%

41%

WOULD YOU USE SOME OF THE

AFOREMENTIONED APPS TO LEARN ENGLISH?

Yes No, I think they are useless

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language, users have admitted not being able to be consistent with a schedule; that is, they do not have the responsibility to attend the lessons. This lack of consistency could be also due to one of the limitations that apps have since the majority of participants agreed that the activities are usually repetitive and robotic. This type of activities may make the students enter a process of fossilization since they are not provided with new sentence-structures to use with the vocabulary or grammar learnt; consequently, it is complex to achieve a high level of English uniquely by using these platforms. Despite the aforementioned disadvantages, they acknowledge that apps are useful for beginner levels, or to complement with traditional learning methodologies.

It is remarkable that the majority of the respondents have commented on the lack of human factor; that is, the lack of a teacher to give them feedback, and also the lack of interaction with learners. The learners considered necessary having a teacher explaining the lessons, also someone who helps them throughout the whole process; hence, they miss the presence of a person who can monitor their learning habits. Not only do they complain about the lack of a teacher but the absence of interchange with other students. The lack of human factor forces them to focus on vocabulary and grammar, but not in speaking since they do not have partners with whom they can practise what they have learnt. These apps do not offer the possibility to practise equally the different skills: speaking, listening, reading writing and use of English. It is necessary to progress in the different aspects of the language in order to obtain a real experience with learning a foreign language; however, it is nearly impossible to practise all the skills, and mostly speaking, by using the aforementioned apps.

It could be concluded that apps provide learners with new methodologies to learn a foreign language, and even to revise the level they already had before using the app; however, the majority agreed that the main disadvantage is the lack of human factor since they are not able to practise all the skills, and therefore, they will not be able to have an advanced level of English by using an app exclusively. Apps could supplement other English lessons, or they could help learners expand their vocabulary on particular fields.

5. App Design: A Proposal

As a last question, participants were asked to explain which qualities an app should have in order to be appealing for them to study English. Participants have given a great deal of input;

therefore, this section of the paper creates the theoretical representation of the idyllic app based on the their contributions. Despite the fact that it is a theoretical representation, the app will be named AngloSpeak since it combines two of the most important features of such prototype: the

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language to be studied, and the importance that this model gives to speaking in relation to other smartphone applications.

First, it must be highlighted that the proposed app is centred on learners between the ages of 20 and 30 from the Balearic Islands since the proposal is created from what they have answered in the questionnaire. However, it might be used by Spanish speakers from all ages.

The application will contain two different subscriptions: a free one and a premium one which will have a cost. In the free subscription all learners will have access to a chat a forum, and different exercises to put into practice the contents and concepts learnt. Those who enrol for the premium subscription will have also access to conferences, private lessons, and personalised feedback. Since there will be tutors and teachers who explain and provide feedback, the premium learners will pay their contribution monthly. Furthermore, there will be advertisements for non-premium users to support the smartphone application.

Image 1. Cover of the free subscription.

The free subscription will contain four different sections in which everybody with a profile in the app will have access. All students must create a profile with a picture of themselves, their age, the level of English and a brief description explaining their interests and hobbies. Other users will be able to see this information and send friend requests to those profiles that may benefit them in learning English. When the other person accepts the request, they will be able to engage into a conversation in the chat. It is important to take into

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consideration this aspect because students should feel comfortable using the app; therefore, they will be able to choose the type of person they want to start a conversation with, e.g., some learners may only want to interact with people of their same age, or with similar interests. The chat will allow students send audios and make video calls, which is one of the main asked aspects by the participants since they consider that interaction with other learners is essential to learn the language proficiently. Furthermore, they claimed that it was important to create a platform which allowed them to practise speaking and pronunciation; the audios and the video calls make possible to practise speaking, pronunciation and fluency.

There will be a section containing online exercises; this part will be similar to the applications already mentioned in this paper. There will be different levels: from level 1 which will correspond to an A1, to level 6 which will correspond to a C2. However, all participants must start in the first level, and they will have to complete a brief test in order to upgrade, i.e, they will have to pass different tests to prove that they have a higher level. In each level, there will be several lessons explaining briefly the grammar and vocabulary, and exercises to practise the theoretical part of the language. Furthermore, at the end of each lesson students will have to complete several tasks and tests to proceed to the next lesson. This system allows students advance from a B1 to a C2, which is something that some apps lack, the possibility to progress.

Since most of them have claimed that these exercises can be repetitive and monotonous, the app will also include a forum in which all students can participate; they may post texts, videos or images. The platform will give students a topic to comment every day in case they do not know what to write about; for instance, students could publish a post describing what they did on the weekend, or even showing photos or videos and a brief commentary. In fact, the only condition is that they respect all students, and they use English to communicate with each other.

Therefore, the forum is a space where students learn the language by using their social media skills, which means that both sections combined do not only allow students learn vocabulary and grammar, but to put into practice what has been learnt.

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Image 3. Example of how the theory would be presented in the app.

Image 4. Prototype of the forum.

Image 3. This image represents a model of how the app would pnt the exercises.

Image 2. Example of how the app would present the exercises.

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The last component of the free section will contain a large list of links to access different reading material since another complaint that students had is the lack of reading and listening practice. A subject suggested creating an app in which there are readings depending on their preferences, that is why this section will contain a large number of links conducting the reader to official websites. They will be able to read about the news, literature, science, economics, education, etc. Apart from reading practice, the app will also suggest podcasts and conferences such as BBC Podcast or TedTalks to practice listening. In this manner, this section will help students fulfil two skills which are important to master the language: reading and listening.

Image 5. Cover of the premium subscription.

The premium subscription will complement the free section. It will contain three complementary sections: conferences and seminars, weekly tutorials and assignments. The main complaint was the lack of explanations in applications since most of them introduce the subject matter briefly; furthermore, students claimed that the lack of teachers explaining the lesson made harder to follow the explanations, and to be consistent with the exercises.

Therefore, this section aims at fulfilling the learners’ requirements regarding the existence of a human tutor.

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There will be a section in which a teacher or several teachers will make two conferences per week explaining grammar, vocabulary and different techniques to use in writing and speaking. These conferences will be recorded and saved in the app; thus, subscribers will have permanent access to them. It is crucial to have a teacher explaining the lesson, which is a characteristic that not many apps have. As a matter of fact, at the end of each online session students will be able to make questions about the theory explained or doubts which might arise.

There will be interaction between teachers and students to provide learners with solutions and answers to possible doubts. The interaction between the two parts is undoubtedly necessary to learn a language proficiently because having a clear explanation facilitates the internalisation of knowledge; in addition, the teacher will propose different activities which should be conducted and handed in the enabled section.

The premium learners will hand in assignments weekly; these assignments will be related to the theory or topics explained in the conferences. These tasks might be exercises, writings or even recorded speaking practices. Later, they will obtain personalised feedback, which may be furthered explained in the weekly tutorials. When the teacher corrects a task, a detailed report with the corrections will be given to the students; hence, they will see their merits and weaknesses. Apps only provide automatic corrections, which do not contribute to the learner’s progress; therefore, it is imperative to create a smartphone application that provides students with individualized feedback, which is essential in order to advance in the learning process.

Students will be also entitled to an individual tutorial with a teacher every week. The opportunity to talk to a teacher, who can explain in detail the doubts they may have, is an aspect that many participants have demanded in the survey. In order to have the tutorial, students will book their place on the platform: there will be a calendar to select a date and a time. When a student books a date, the date will be no longer available for other learners; in this way, it is easier for the teacher to keep track of who has a tutorial. After choosing a slot, students will be able to add observations to clarify why they want to meet with the educator, e.g., to review the present tenses, or to correct an activity; thus, the teacher will manage to prepare the tutorial beforehand. The students could ask questions, doubts, or even practise speaking with the teacher, that is, they will have the opportunity to practise what interests them most.

Additionally, the meetings will be done online, which makes AngloSpeak be a comfortable app to use since it allows students choose the place and the time of the tutorial.

It must be concluded that AngloSpeak is a prototype of the idyllic app created from the contributions and demands of the survey’s participants. The app is created to provide students

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with enough material to learn English autonomously, but also to give them the opportunity of having a person who can facilitate the learning process. Furthermore, the app is also developed to assist students in advancing and progressing in their learning process.

6. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research

The main aim of the paper was to learn the number of participants that use apps, and what the advantages and disadvantages of such use are. The paper has indicated that 42% of the participants have used a smartphone app to learn English: however, it has also proven that applications pose a high quantity of limitations to learn English autonomously and proficiently.

The participants’ primary concerned was to learn in an autonomous and comfortable manner;

in addition, they used the apps because they are an alternative to traditional methodologies.

They claimed that one of the main advantages was that smartphone applications are easy to access because they are in constant contact with their mobile phones. As most of the studies mentioned in the paper, participants claimed that apps are mostly successful to learn vocabulary since they present a lot of vocabulary, but they do not give the option of observing vocabulary in other contexts; in other words, they do not present real language. Furthermore, they claimed that apps did not explored all the skills required to learn a language; therefore, the learning experience is limited.

Even if most of the participants are digital natives, the vast majority of them also missed human contact, and the lack of opportunities to practise speaking and pronunciation. Since English is a lingua franca, most people are more concerned with knowing how to communicate orally than to learn complicated sentence-structures. The paper presents an app prototype called AngloSpeak, which has all the qualities needed to learn English proficiently. The model contains a chat and a forum, which make possible the interaction between learners; moreover, it offers a premium section in which students will have access to online lessons and seminars.

A teacher could also monitor the learning process and provide feedback to the students. As it has been seen in previous studies, teachers demonstrate to be essential because they can help students process information and understand language must be used.

There are some limitations in this study that should be taken into consideration. The paper is based on the answers of a homogeneous group of people; the majority of the participants could be grouped under the same category since they respond to a similar profile.

In addition, the proposed app is presented exclusively from a theoretical perspective; therefore, it does not take into consideration the complications that could appear when it is converted into a real software application. Future researchers could create a similar survey answered by a more

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heterogeneous group of people; therefore, the results can vary depending on the age, the sex or the place of residence of the person answering it since the learning of a foreign language is culturally subjected. If a future researcher can obtain a larger model, different patterns on the use of apps to learn a language will demonstrate which sectors of society prefer to use them.

Furthermore, it would be also interesting to create an app with the ideas presented in section 5 of the paper because it could be observed if students use it, and if it is actually helpful for them.

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The Use of Mobile Applications to Learn English: an Empirical Study and a Proposal