Phone CALL Incidental Language Learning with Mobile Technologies Mike Sharples with Tony Fisher, Richard Pemberton, Tommy Sweeney University of Nottingham Hiroaki Ogata, Noriko Uosaki University of Tokushima Phil Edmonds, Anthony Hull, Patrick Tschorn Sharp Labs, Europe
PhoneCALL: Incidental Language Learning on Mobile Devices. Edited version of presentation to EuroCALL 2011.
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Phone CALLIncidental Language Learning with Mobile Technologies
Mike Sharples
with Tony Fisher, Richard Pemberton, Tommy SweeneyUniversity of Nottingham
Hiroaki Ogata, Noriko UosakiUniversity of Tokushima
Phil Edmonds, Anthony Hull, Patrick TschornSharp Labs, Europe
Mobile language learning is boring
• ¼ of the population of China is learning English (300 million people)
• In the next 5 years all Chinese schools will teach English in kindergarten
• All state employees younger than 40 will be required to master 1,000 English phrases
• “ Numerous obstacles stand in the way of China’s quest, including a shortage of good English teachers and the country’s test-oriented education system”
• 1 billion people in China use mobile phones (67% of the population) of which 100 million are smartphones
Indianapolis Business Journal, “Report from China”, March 2011
...but important
How can we design language learning for a smartphone that is engaging and effective?
Creating a context In a context
Context
Initial vocabulary
and grammar
Direct instruction
Fluency
Social interaction
Vocabulary acquisition
Incidentallearning
Context
Initial vocabulary
and grammar
Direct instruction
• BBC Janala in Bangladesh
• English teaching on mobile phones
• Dial 3000 to access three minute audio lessons
• Content linked to youth TV show and news
• Over 3.5 million calls
Context
Initial vocabulary
and grammar
Direct instruction
Vocabulary acquisition
Incidental learning
• Learn vocabulary in context
• Rehearse• Use vocabulary
to create new contexts
• Share the contextualised vocabulary
Research project by the Learning Sciences Research Institute in association with the University of Tokushima and Sharp Laboratories of Europe
Incidental second language learning• Self-directed learning of vocabulary in the
context of reading from books• Fits into gaps in everyday life• Adaptive tutoring• Motivating: e-book & e-game
E-book
Readstory for
vocabulary
E-game
Practise sentence
construction
Personal vocabulary
Rehearse vocabulary
list
Selected words
Gamewords
Missingwords
Elmo Mark 2 for smartphonesSmartphones: Sharp WS004SH (3.7 inch colour TFT screen, 480x640 resolution) and Sharp WS007SH (2.8 inch colour TFT screen, 480x640 resolution).
Research question
Are there differences in the learning of English vocabulary through reading novels, depending on the mode of mobile interaction?
Three modes of interaction
• Paper book• e-book reader with English
dictionary• ‘ELMO’: e-book reader with
enhanced software, including adaptive user modelling and additional interactivity
E-book
Elmo adaptive system
Paper book
Participants
• Class of 39 students (24 female, 15 male) aged 15-17 at a Japanese high school
• Class divided on the basis of a pre-test into 3 comparison groups balanced in terms of English vocabulary and gender, enabling a crossover design to be employed for the study
Crossover designCycle A
The Hound of the
Baskervilles
Cycle BThe Thirty-nine Steps
Cycle C Little Women
Wk1
Wk2
Wk3
Wk4
Wk5
Wk6
GpA
ELMO e-book book
GpB
e-book book ELMO
GpC
book ELMO e-book
Su
rvey a
nd
focu
s g
rou
ps
Post
-test
th
ree
Post
-test
on
e
Post
-test
tw
o
Base
-lin
e t
est
Conduct of the study
• Pre-test: test of specific vocabulary from the three novels
• Two weeks to read a novel – students could decide how much, when and where
• Discussion of novel allowed, but no swapping• Help-sheet and local advice in case of a
problem with a device• No school implications of results• Post-test: the same words as in pre-test
• “Made my eyes tired, so I recommend ‘paper book’”
• “It is good to write down whatever I want on ‘paper book’”
• “I do not want to bring another device with me other than my mobile phone to read novels”
• “Many say that if a small and light device with a satisfactory English-Japanese dictionary, smooth scrolling, less charging is possible, then Adaptive Device would be best” (Teacher)
Interview data
Conclusions
• The study was carefully set up and rigorously conducted
• It didn’t show any particular technology to be effective in enhancing incidental learning of English vocabulary
Conclusions
• The study was carefully set up and rigorously conducted
• It didn’t show effectiveness of any particular technology to enhance incidental learning of English vocabulary
• But... Sharp Labs Europe is developing a new version of Elmo with an attractive interface, pictorial e-book and vocabulary games
Elmo Mk3 for Android devices
Product launch in Autumn 2011(NB – these are screenshots from an early prototype version, not the market product)
Context
Initial vocabulary
and grammar
Direct instruction
Fluency
Social interaction
Vocabulary acquisition
Incidentallearning
Research prototypes for contextual vocabulary acquisition and fluency
MiLexicon – Joshua UnderwoodPhD, Institute of Education, London