A collaborative mobile learning system to facilitate foreign language learning and assessment processes

Abstract

The growing spread of mobile technologies provides educators and developers with new opportunities for creating a wider range of language learning and assessment tools. In this paper we present a multi-user mobile learning system---specifically designed for this study. The system delivers an app version of a paper-based collaborative learning task successfully used for several years with undergraduate students in an A1-level German language course (CEFR). The collaborative learning task, called Terminkalender, requires students to work together to plan different activities and record them in an appointment calendar. While the paper-based version of the Terminkalender already had a great potential for engaging students to communicate and negotiate in the target language, the app-based mobile learning system facilitates students' language learning process---while at the same time allowing teachers to easily trace back learners' interaction in the target language. To this end, specific software implementing several features was developed: a user-friendly web portal interface for teachers, computer-generated anonymous learner identities, an in-app text chat function, real-time task performance feedback to learners as well as a log function for storage and assessment purposes. The experiment provides us with some interesting insights into language learner behaviour and interaction patterns, allowing to draw a number of preliminary conclusions regarding how task design and using a collaborative mobile learning system impacts both student interaction and task performance.