Use of Mobile Applications in Developing Reading Comprehension in Second Language Acquisition—A Review Study

Blanka Klimova,Katarina Zamborova

doi:10.3390/educsci10120391

Blanka Klimova, Katarina Zamborova

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10120391

Copy DOI

Journal: Education sciences	Publication Date: Dec 18, 2020
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Hradec Králové

Abstract

Reading is a fundamental skill for academic success because university students need to comprehend an extensive amount of information in a short time to achieve their academic goals. However, the influx of new technologies into education has challenged the teaching of reading skills in a foreign language. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of emerging technologies, especially mobile applications, on second language reading comprehension in the period between 1 January and 30 September 2020. Therefore, the authors of this article conducted a search of available studies on the topic, i.e., the use of mobile applications in developing reading comprehension in second language acquisition, in two databases: Web of Science and Scopus. Despite the methodological differences, the findings of all of the identified studies showed that there was an improvement in reading comprehension after the treatment with mobile applications. In addition, a positive attitude and enhanced learner motivation when using mobile apps was found in several studies. Overall, there is potential for developing research on MALL and reading comprehension for randomized control studies with larger populations and longer intervention periods.

Highlights

IntroductionReading becomes an important aspect in people’s lives when they want to grow and keep up with the abundance of information everywhere
The results indicated that mobile apps for the development of reading comprehension should be mainly used outside of traditional classes, since more space can be devoted to the development of productive speaking skills [5,50,51]
The use of mobile applications in developing reading comprehension in second language acquisition is on the rise

Summary

Introduction

Reading becomes an important aspect in people’s lives when they want to grow and keep up with the abundance of information everywhere It becomes an inevitable part of our leisure time, study assignments, or work duties. It is especially important for university students, as they are suddenly exposed to too many reading materials they have to handle for their studies. They can choose from two forms—print or digital—in which the writers’ main goal is to keep the readers’ attention and promote retention of the material. Text is often accompanied by videos or pictures to make it more vivid and unforgettable, so readers have a wide range of possibilities of texts and formats to choose from, as almost everyone can become an author of a text

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion