An Investigation of Chinese Older Adults' Self-Directed English Learning Experience Using Mobile Apps

Abstract

A majority of research on mobile-assisted language learning focuses on traditional English language learners: thus, little attention has been paid to older adult learners. The purpose of the study is to explore the learning experiences of Chinese older adults using the free and popular English learning mobile apps, Duolingo/Hello English, Baicizhan, and Liulishuo, in a self-directed learning (SDL) context. A 17-week sequential mixed-methods study was designed. 55 older adults from age 45 to 85 participated. The informed grounded theory was used and Saldana's coding techniques for qualitative analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Findings demonstrate that older adults persisted in learning using mobile apps for 17 weeks and increased their vocabulary significantly. Finally, a transformational learning model called MISAPP was created based on the empirical data and the SDL theory.

A Novel Educational Smartphone Application for Cognitively Healthy Seniors: A Pilot Study

“…This finding still contradicts a prevailing opinion of the majority studies, which state that seniors have negative attitudes towards the use of mobile phones as a teaching aid, although they used them for conducting everyday tasks [ 32 , 33 ]. However, the educational mobile application that is tailored to the seniors’ needs might generate a lot of benefits to them, such as increasing older people’s confidence about using smartphones, enhancing intergenerational communication, developing informal learning, or practicing their cognitive skills [ 15 , 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 34 ].…”

“…Thus, generally there are very few empirical studies on the exploration of the use of mobile applications for learning English as a foreign language by older adults [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, the technology and in this case, smartphones can partly contribute to the solution of the issue of aging population [ 17 ].…”

“…As far as the mobile applications for learning English are concerned, Wang and Christiansen [ 15 ] conducted an empirical study among 55 older Chinese individuals aged between 40 and 81 years. The results of this study show that the participants improved their vocabulary, as well as persisting in learning for 17 weeks since they were intrinsically motivated to learn English.…”

Cognitive and Socioaffective Predictors of L2 Microdevelopment in Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Intervention Study

“…Second, the experimental group in this study received Spanish training for beginners not only through a communicative L2 approach but also via CALL. Currently, research into CALL in the third age is gaining traction (see, e.g., Cox, 2017; Wang & Christiansen, 2019; Ware et al., 2017), but to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies combining CALL with traditional classroom‐based instruction for older learners. Given the ubiquity of rapidly changing and advancing computer and electronic technologies and the proportional increase of the aging population, a greater number of older adults are interacting more frequently with different types of technologies in a variety of contexts (Mitzner et al., 2019; Schlomann et al., 2020).…”

Application of Mobile App in English Teaching in an Intelligent Environment

“…Mobile intelligent terminal can enable students to carry out mobile learning and expand the scope of teaching activities to a broader field. Students can start learning activities anytime and anywhere according to their own needs, can make full use of all kinds of free time to learn, can improve students' interest in learning, and can use a variety of teaching resources to learn and carry out teachingrelated activities [13,14]. In terms of technical operation and implementation, these mobile terminals include multimedia functions, such as audio and video, and are smart tools that support data transmission and information processing capabilities.…”