Practical evaluation of a mobile language learning tool in higher education

Abstract

Following on preliminary research (Ketyi, 2013), in this project we looked for a mobile language learning solution, which combines computers and mobile devices. Our main idea was to explore whether by integrating mobile devices in our language teaching practice, our students at the Budapest Business School would gain valuable additional learning time outside school and whether that would improve their language learning efficiency. The mobile language learning application that was chosen for the project was busuu (https://www.busuu.com/ enc/). The participants (N=94, M=20.77 years) were studying four different foreign languages (German, English, Spanish, Italian). The findings of this exploration show that busuu and other similar language learning apps are still new and unknown to the students, only one of them had used busuu before. The use of busuu was easy and simple, the app worked smoothly on the students’ devices; during the study, the experimental group increased their performance (+2.2%) according to the language test results while the control group decreased it (-3.1%) and the difference at the post measurement is statistically significant (p=.013). An analysis of the results across gender showed that the female students performed at the post measurement significantly better than the male students (p=.032), and according to the students’ opinions, busuu provides limited help concerning the language skills.