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

(scored out of 30)

Results for adaptive handheld learning device

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

Adaptive

Book

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

Comparison with paper book

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

AdaptiveEbookBook

Comparison with e-book

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

Log dataid book

pages read

dictionary lookups

1 39_Steps 8 110 39_Steps 1 117 39_Steps 12 318 39_Steps 1 034 39_Steps 3 011 39_Steps 13 712 39_Steps 2 115 39_Steps 4 02 39_Steps 3 10

20 39_Steps 7 121 39_Steps 1 024 39_Steps 1 025 39_Steps 8 026 39_Steps 5 027 39_Steps 2 1028 39_Steps 8 129 39_Steps 15 23 39_Steps 1 2

31 39_Steps 1 032 39_Steps 5 037 39_Steps 1 238 39_Steps 3 14 39_Steps 3 8

41 39_Steps 1 243 39_Steps 28 244 39_Steps 10 6

id bookPages read

Dictionary lookups

1 Little_Women 7 108 Little_Women 1 011 Little_Women 16 1316 Little_Women 3 017 Little_Women 9 119 Little_Women 4 222 Little_Women 1 124 Little_Women 1 225 Little_Women 1 028 Little_Women 4 23 Little_Women 1 0

30 Little_Women 4 031 Little_Women 2 032 Little_Women 1 034 Little_Women 1 035 Little_Women 2 036 Little_Women 1 039 Little_Women 2 040 Little_Women 3 042 Little_Women 5 444 Little_Women 2 05 Little_Women 1 19 Little_Women 1 1

• “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

https://sites.google.com/site/joshunderwood/milexicon

Look up on favourite sites

miLexicon: connecting vocabulary

Scroll for self-assessment prompts &

item history

Share

Toponimo– Tommy SweeneyPhD, University of Nottingham

Creating a context In a context

Context

Initial vocabulary

and grammar

Direct instruction

Fluency

Social interaction

Vocabulary acquisition

Incidentallearning