Usability of Mobile Assisted Language Learning App

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the usability of Mobile Assisted Language Learning i.e. Literacy and Numeracy Drive (LND) which is smartphone application to learn language and mathematics in public sector primary schools of Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan. In this study, usability tests were conducted which included surveys of questionnaires from teachers and students. The user experience, reliability, and performance of mobile application assessed, along with user satisfaction. The LND mobile application has not been found to be successful, with a poor user interface and requires improvement. The "Using Experience," "Ease of Use" and "Usefulness" variables have been the lowest scorers in terms of user experience. Mobile device specifications were not simple and confusing; the services provided by the LND were not appealing and effective for students or teachers. This research suggested several improvements in the usability and functionality of this LND application based on assessed user experience. Many schools have chosen to use mobile apps for the teaching and evaluation of language at school. The use of mobile-assisted learning at public sector schools in Punjab, invites us to gauge the usability and effectiveness of this approach at such a huge scale which will make it more effective.

Mobile-assisted and gamification-based language learning: a systematic literature review

“…Summarize the Table 11 , researchers developed applications and games for language learning in which majority of these developed for English Language Learning and vocabulary. Similarly, less application and games were developed for pedagogy ( Kearney et al, 2012 ) ( Dennen & Hao, 2014 ) reading ( Hsu, Hwang & Chang, 2013 ) ( Lin, 2014 ), pronunciation ( Liakin, Cardoso & Liakina, 2014 ) idioms ( Wong, 2013 ) ( Amer, 2014 ) tenses ( Önal, Çevik & Şenol, 2019 ) grammar ( Chu, Wang & Wang, 2019 ; Ramadoss & Wang, 2012 ) spellings ( Tshering et al, 2018 ) achievement, attitude, usefulness, usability and effectiveness ( Martin & Ertzberger, 2013 ) ( Liu, Li & Carlsson, 2010 ) ( Ishaq et al, 2020a ; Ishaq et al, 2020b ; Ishaq et al, 2019 ; Ishaq et al, 2020d ). From the selected studies, various models/frameworks were used as a base for developing an application in which TAM ( Hsu, Hwang & Chang, 2013 ) ( Lin, 2014 ) ( Chang et al, 2013 ) ( Ishaq et al, 2020b ; Ishaq et al, 2019 ) mostly used.…”

“…Usefulness: The perceived usefulness (PU) is also one of the separate structures in the TAM. It is the extent to which a person believes that a specific process may improve the efficiency of his/her job ( World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience, 2020 ) ( Ishaq et al, 2020c ).…”

“…The results presented by studies for gamified applications of vocabulary learning, Idioms, grammar, sentence structure, tenses, and words outperformed the control groups with much engagement, interest, and positive feedback. Although mobile applications are effective, gamified applications are more effective with enhanced interest and engagement, resulting in positive learning outcomes ( Ishaq et al, 2020a ; Ishaq et al, 2020b ; Ishaq et al, 2019 ; Ishaq et al, 2020d ). Furthermore, it may be concluded that gamified applications are trending for all the subjects at all levels of education to get significant learning performance ( Ishaq et al, 2020d ) ( Ishaq et al, 2020c ; Dichev & Dicheva, 2017 ) ( Zin & Yue, 2013 ; Zin, Jaafar & Yue, 2009 ).…”

“…Although mobile applications are effective, gamified applications are more effective with enhanced interest and engagement, resulting in positive learning outcomes ( Ishaq et al, 2020a ; Ishaq et al, 2020b ; Ishaq et al, 2019 ; Ishaq et al, 2020d ). Furthermore, it may be concluded that gamified applications are trending for all the subjects at all levels of education to get significant learning performance ( Ishaq et al, 2020d ) ( Ishaq et al, 2020c ; Dichev & Dicheva, 2017 ) ( Zin & Yue, 2013 ; Zin, Jaafar & Yue, 2009 ). Furthermore, ( Ishaq et al, 2020b ) recommended gamified application in the public sector school to effectively learn the English language (specifically reading comprehension at primary level) after addressing all the stakeholders' issues.…”

Usefulness of Mobile Assisted Language Learning in Primary Education

“…This process takes less than 05 minutes for each student and approximately 329,000 students are evaluated monthly. According to [53], 6.7 million evaluations have been conducted till now by the MEAs and this data is uploaded on the official portal for the analysis to the educational administrators via SMS and also online dashboard whereas, the monthly assessment result is available for free for every school in every sub-division of all the districts in Punjab province for their information [78] [80].…”