Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres

Memòria del Treball de Fi de Grau

The Use of Mobile Applications to Learn

English: an Empirical Study and a Proposal.

Angela Ramos Blanco

Grau d’Estudis Anglesos

Any acadèmic 2020-21

DNI de l’alumne: 78221765F

Treball tutelat per Yolanda Joy Calvo Benzies

Departament de Filologia Espanyola, Moderna i Clàssica

Autor Tutor
S'autoritza la Universitat a incloure aquest treball en el Repositori
Institucional per a la seva consulta en accés obert i difusió en línia, Sí No Sí No
amb finalitats exclusivament acadèmiques i d'investigació

Paraules clau del treball:

Mobile Learning, Apps, Students’ Opinions, Learning English, Education
Abstract
Smartphone applications are currently used in all areas of life, including education. People
started to use apps to learn foreign languages, specifically English due to its increasing
importance. This paper aims at establishing the profile of students who use apps to learn
English, how these learners use the apps, and why. It explores whether the use of apps have
advantages or disadvantages for learning English, and to what extent applications can substitute
teachers. In order to determine the above-mentioned aspects, a survey was distributed to
different sectors of society. Although respondents considered apps a beneficial tool to learn
English autonomously, there are a great deal of drawbacks that should be taken into
consideration. Therefore, this paper will provide a theoretical representation of an idyllic app
taking into account the demands of the survey’s respondents.

Key words
Mobile Learning, Apps, Students’ Opinions, Learning English, Education
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

2. Literary Review ...................................................................................................................... 2

3. Study....................................................................................................................................... 5

3.1 Research Material ............................................................................................................. 5

3.2 Participants ....................................................................................................................... 5

3.3. Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 5

4. Results .................................................................................................................................... 6

5. App Design: A Proposal ....................................................................................................... 14

6. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research .................................................................... 20

Works Cited: ............................................................................................................................ 22

Table of Figures
Figure 1. Participant's level of English....................................................................................... 6
Figure 2. Percentage of participants that possess a certificate proving their level of English. .. 7
Figure 3. Type of certificate users possess. ................................................................................ 7
Figure 4. The place where the participants learnt English. ........................................................ 8
Figure 5. Student’s exposure to the foreign language. ............................................................... 8
Figure 6. Percentage of participants who are currently studying English. ................................. 9
Figure 7. Participant's answers whether one can learn English by using an app or not. .......... 10
Figure 8. Representation of the number of participants who have or have not used an app to
learn English. ............................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 9. Different apps used by the participants to learn English. ......................................... 10
Figure 10. Apps known by the participants who have not used an app to learn English. ........ 11
Figure 11. Reasons why participants started using an app. ...................................................... 12
Figure 12. Frequency of app usage. ......................................................................................... 12
Figure 13. Percentage of participants who have considered apps helpful to learn English. .... 12
Figure 14. Depiction of students who do not use apps but consider using one to learn English.
.................................................................................................................................................. 13

Table of Images
Image 1. Cover of the free subscription. .................................................................................. 15
Image 2. Example of how the app would present the exercises. .............................................. 17
Image 3. Example of how the theory would be presented in the app. ..................................... 17
Image 4. Prototype of the forum. ............................................................................................. 17
Image 5. Cover of the premium subscription. .......................................................................... 18
1. Introduction

The importance of English in our society is undeniable; for the past decade, English has become
the world’s most powerful language in all social areas from tourism to the entertainment
industry. English is the language that people use to communicate with others whose mother
tongue is different; it is also the one used for travelling; thus, speaking English has become a
fundamental requisite in almost every society. For instance, a great deal of the population in the
Balearic Islands, where the main economic activity proceeds from tourism, started to study
English to find a better job position. This growing enthusiasm in learning English was not only
a phenomenon occurring in the Balearic Islands but in almost all places of the world. Due to its
importance in all aspects of life, English has also made its way into other academic areas such
as education. The majority of schools have introduced English as a Second Language (ESL) in
their curriculum: all students under the age of sixteen in Spain study an English subject every
year; hence, institutions have contributed to the expansion of English as a lingua franca. There
has also been an increasing appearance of academies that teach foreign languages, in particular
English. These academies, which can be state or private establishments, allow people from all
ages to study English: adults and children have started to learn the language massively.
Furthermore, the appearance of technological devices and the Internet have made
possible the creation of platforms which offer online courses to learn English. These platforms
were created to provide courses remotely for people who could not attend face-to-face lessons.
It could be said that technology has been revolutionising the world of education, and
specifically, the learning methodologies. With the creation of applications for learning English,
students have found themselves with enough material to start studying the foreign language
autonomously. Most of these apps, indeed, offer a great variety of vocabulary and grammar
exercises as well as games, quizzes, and chats. Smartphone applications have become a popular
way to learn English since students acquire new knowledge without noticing it. Many studies
have been carried out to see how these apps work and what effects they have on learning
vocabulary and grammar. This paper will also contribute to understand not only the
effectiveness but also the opinions that the general population has towards the apps.
The paper begins by contextualising the theme of the study; examining the different
factors which contribute to the importance of English, and the studies related to apps to learn
such language. It will then go on to present the data of the conducted study: the participants and
the material used. It will continue presenting the results of the survey, and the answers provided

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by the participants. Furthermore, it will propose an app design with the users’ contributions.
Finally, the paper concludes by presenting a discussion of the results, and the limitations of the
present study.

2. Literary Review
Technological devices have become the most powerful tools in the 21st century due to the fact
that they let people access the Internet easily. In such an advanced world, the Internet has been
important in all aspects of life including education considering that it “allows anyone to access
educational resources anytime, anywhere” (Zhao and Liu 2019, 48). In fact, the Internet has
helped English become one of the most important languages in the world (Wu and Huang 2017,
265). In other words, the development of English has increased thanks to the use of technologies
not only for entertainment but also for teaching and learning English. Since it is considered a
lingua franca (Jenkins 2009), a great deal of non-English countries have introduced ESL in
education (Wu and Huang 2017, 265). Despite the fact that many students learn English, some
of them have claimed that the learning of vocabulary and grammar is monotonous; thus,
teachers have been indirectly forced to introduce new methods and strategies in the classroom
(265).
It is a sensible idea to introduce some electronic devices in the classroom considering
that the new generation of youngsters known as digital natives demand it (Prensky 2001, 1).
This generation of learners has grown up surrounded by technological devices (Prensky 2001,
1; Moustafa 2017, 45); consequently, they have been constantly exposed to digital technology,
i.e., technological devices have become a significant portion of their lives (Georgina 2013, 51).
The use of technologies is an attraction for digital natives considering that they use a
multiplicity of electronic devices daily such as game consoles, laptops and smartphones; these
devices are not only used for entertainment but also to study since they prefer to learn on their
own (Georgina 2013, 52; Moustafa 2017, 46). Despite the fact that they are more comfortable
instructing themselves, teachers cannot be replaced rather they are obliged to find alternatives
which make the learning process more appealing for the students. Even if educators might come
up against many challenges, they will need to “train themselves on how to use these
technologies” (Levy 2009, 777). It ought to be taken into consideration that “technology is
there to serve language learning, not vice versa” (779); therefore, educators must learn how to
introduce pedagogical knowledge by using these tools (Georgina 2013, 53). They are expected
to propose alternative models to teach English in order to comply to the necessities of the
learners (Dooly 2150); for that reason, educators are still extremely necessary because they are
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able to monitor the learning process and help students with the problems they might have inside
and outside the classroom (Collinson 2001, 40). Although technological devices are requested
in education, machines cannot substitute humans because “personality is a unique to human
beings and plays an important role” (Zhao and Liu 2019, 49) in teaching. Taking all these
aspects into consideration, if teachers want to have successful results in the classroom, they
should start introducing different methods which adjust to the digital natives’ requirements
(Georgina 2013, 54).
There are different types of electronic devices that can be helpful for educators to
include in their teaching methodology, such as laptop computers, interactive whiteboards, and
even mobile phones (Stockwell 2010, 95). Among the different technological devices, mobile
phones should not be ignored since they suppose a source of inspiration and motivation for
learners due to the attachment they have with these devices (Pachler et al. 2017, 341). Some of
the qualities that students might benefit from smartphones are the “control over goals,
ownership, fun, communication, learning-in-context and continuity between contexts” (66).
Nevertheless, many educators have preferred to use Computer Assisted Language Learning
(CALL) in teaching vocabulary because of the benefits that computers proportion learners such
as dictionaries, online activities, games, etc. (Levy 2009, 771). In fact, the use of online games
to learn vocabulary has appeared to be a successful strategy to increase the memorization and
the potential of learners; therefore, such games have encouraged students to absorb more input
than by using traditional methodologies (Wu and Huang 2017, 273). In Stockwell’s
examinations, it was seen that students took extra time to finish the activities on the mobile
phone in relation to those who completed them on a computer (Stockwell 2010, 106). Even if
all learners successfully completed the activities, it is possible that the mobile phone entails a
distraction for them (106). Stockwell concluded that students were equally successful in relation
to the knowledge acquired despite the time taken; he also considered that the mobile phone is
preferable because is the most comfortable and simplest device for students to adopt (109).
Although both of the aforementioned technological-based devices are being introduced in the
language classroom, the type of resource which has been favoured in the last years to learn
English is the usage of mobile apps (95).
It is thought that smartphone applications “have a lot of potential to support language
learning” (Mindog 2016, 17) due to their easy accessibility and affordability (17). Research has
demonstrated that mobile phones are the most effective device since students are familiarized
with them, and they are not an expense for the institutions (Stockwell 2010, 95). Furthermore,
apps have been found to support students in the process of learning English because they usually

3
motivate learners since they are dynamic and satisfying, and they allow learners to see their
advancements (Mindog 2016, 18). Not only have these educational apps been created to use in
the classroom but there are also many apps which are accessible for anyone who wants to learn
English, i.e., in a more autonomous way (Wang and Smith 2013, 119). For instance, Duolingo
is one of the most popular apps to learn any language since it “claims to act as a private language
tutor that provides individualized instruction” (Teske 2017, 394). It ought to be taken into
account that Duolingo’s main exercise is to test students by translating words or sentences rather
than by providing lessons (397). Instead of using real language, Duolingo presents vocabulary
and grammar “in a decontextualized manner” (Gunter et al. 2016, 223). Conversely, Busuu
introduces the knowledge progressively through different activities which facilitate the
language learning (224). Babbel, which is a popular though not free app, also offers material,
and tests to learn English with the possibility of advancing in the learning process (Godwin-
Jones 2019, 8); however, this app does not include any games, which is something that
Duolingo and Busuu include (Gunter et al. 219). Despite the fact that the above-mentioned
mobile applications teach students vocabulary and grammar, HelloTalk uses a different method
considering that it provides students with a chat section to speak with learners from other parts
of the world; therefore, they learn English by engaging in relationships with other students
(Vollmer 2017, 385). It must be highlighted that none of the aforementioned apps fairly expose
students to the different skills needed to fully manage a language: moreover, they tend to
include the same type of exercises throughout the whole learning process which can be
demotivating since learners are not able to explore English in all its aspects.
It has been demonstrated that technology is not only helpful but necessary in English
learning since it allows students to explore their skills while enjoying the lesson. Despite the
fact that previous researchers have proved that games and apps may have beneficial results to
learn English in a classroom context, none of them takes into consideration the use of apps
outside the classroom, and the student’s opinions on the matter. Therefore, this paper will
conduct a research to discover the percentage of people that use smartphone applications to
learn English, and for what purposes the students use them. Furthermore, the purpose of the
study is to analyse if learners consider these apps useful, and the qualities that the perfect app
should have. The paper aims at answering the following research questions: Do people use apps
to learn English voluntarily? Are they useful? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
learning with a smartphone app? What does an app need to have to be useful to learn English?
And last, are educators necessary to teach English?

4
3. Study

3.1 Research Material

The data were collected using a Google Forms’ questionnaire which was distributed in March
of 2021. The following URL was sent to different groups of people by instant
message:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hErUqY_a19P4esFwz4XmOU8NnCshoXLyRLm
uD-L_l9U/edit. The presented survey was divided into three different sections: personal data,
degree of exposure to English, and the use of apps to learn English. The first section of the
questionnaire contained four multiple-choice questions to determine the profile of the
individuals who were answering the survey: age, sex, place of residence and academic level.
The following section contained seven multiple choice questions regarding their level of
English, the place where they learnt the language, and if they have used apps to learn it. If
students had used apps to learn English, three questions were asked regarding the name of the
app, the frequency of use and the reasons of using such app. However, if they had not used an
app, they had to answer two more questions to determine if they were familiar with English
learning apps. Finally, all participants had to answer two open-ended questions in which they
could give their insights in the following matters: the advantages and disadvantages of using
such platforms, and the best qualities that an app can have.

3.2 Participants

A hundred and eight people answered the survey. Out of these, 91.7% are from the Balearic
Islands. Regarding age, 88.9% of them are between 20 and 30 years old. Indeed, 75.9% of the
participants are women. It ought to be taken into consideration that most of the participants
have a high level of education: 66% of them acknowledged being students of an undergraduate
or master’s degree.

3.3. Data Analysis

Even if the users had to provide their email in order to respond the questionnaire, this paper
will present the data anonymously, i.e, the information will be given in percentages. Google
Forms collects the data of the multiple-choice questions into charts and graphs; consequently,
the paper will present data in these forms. The open-ended questions are analysed from a
spreadsheet provided by the platform.

5
4. Results
The first part of the survey collected personal data to establish the profile of users who are
answering the questionnaire. Once the participants answered the personal data, questions about
their level of English were queried.
As can be inferred from Figure 1 below, half of the users claim to have an advanced
level of English, whereas 34% of them believe to have an intermediate level, and only 16% of
the participants acknowledged having a basic level. Their perception of having a high level of
English could be due to their position in the educational system since, due to the introduction
of the Bologna System, all university graduates must have a B2 level of English before
completing their degree. The University of the Balearic Islands offers students two different
ways to recognise this obligatory B2 level of English: a) with an official certificate by certain
institutions; or, b) by passing an optional course within their university degree, commonly an
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) subject. Despite the fact that the vast majority of our
participants affirmed they have a high level of English, only half of them stated that they possess
an official certificate to prove their level of English (Figure 2). More specifically, most of the
participants with an official certificate possess a B2 or a C1 level which has been achieved
through the Spanish national official school of languages, the British Council or the set of
Cambridge exams (Figure 3).

LEVEL OF ENGLISH
Basic Intermediate Advanced

16%

50%

34%

Figure 1. Participant's level of English

6
 DO YOU POSSESS A CERTIFICATE?
Yes No

51% 49%

Figure 2. Percentage of participants that possess a certificate proving their level of English.

TYPE OF CERTIFICATE
B1 B2 C1 C2

8% 8%

38%
46%

Figure 3. Type of certificate users possess.

Not only have they been asked to state their level of English but the place where they
learnt the foreign language. Consequently, Figure 4 below shows that most of them have learnt
most of their English in primary school and high school; 54 users also learnt English in the
university, and 56 have autonomously learnt certain aspects of the language. It must be
emphasised that not many participants have attended an academy or the Spanish national
official school of languages; therefore, it could be claimed that they have learn most of their
English during their years of obligatory education: in Spain, the majority of children have an
obligatory English course every year from primary school to high school. As can be seen in
Figure 5, most of the participants are in constant contact with English, which is not unusual

7
since English is perceived as a lingua franca in such a globalised world. Learners are constantly
exposed to English in social media, i.e., this phenomenon could explain why even if most of
them have a great deal of input, they are not currently studying an English course (Figure 6).

WHERE DID YOU LEARN ENGLISH?

On my
own

Academy

University

High
School

School

0 20 40 60 80 100
Number of Participants

Figure 4. The place where the participants learnt English.

EXPOSURE TO ENGLISH
Frequent Seldom I would like to dedicate more time

26%

60%
14%

Figure 5. Student’s exposure to the foreign language.

8
 ARE YOU CURRENTLY STUDYING ENGLISH?
Yes No

47%
53%

Figure 6. Percentage of participants who are currently studying English.

After having collected general data related to their level of English, the survey’s last
part presented questions about the use of apps to learn English. In fact, participants were asked
to give specific and personalised answers in some of the questions. The open-ended questions
related to the apps’ advantages and disadvantages will be seen at the end of this section;
however, the open-ended question regarding the idyllic app will be commented in section 5 of
the paper.
As can be seen in Figure 7 below, only 4% of the respondents believe that one cannot
learn English by using apps whilst 65% of them claim the opposite but believe there are
limitations to this type of learning− these limitations will be furthered explained and analysed
at the end of this section. As a matter of fact, 42% of the users admitted they have used or are
currently using an app to learn English (Figure 8). As explained above, they were asked to
mention which particular smartphone applications they have used with the aim of learning
English; surprisingly, the app most of our participants have used has been Duolingo; apps such
as Babbel, HelloTalk, Youtube or Twitter were also mentioned (Figure 9). Similarly, Figure 10
shows that those who did not use an app to learn English knew about the existence of Duolingo
and Babbel; both of these apps have a great deal of learners, and Babbel is advertised in many
platforms.

9
 CAN SOMEONE LEARN ENGLISH BY USING AN
APP?
Yes No Yes, but there are limitations

31%

65% 4%

Figure 7. Participant's answers whether one can learn English by using an app or not.

HAVE YOU USED AN APP TO LEARN ENGLISH?

Yes No

42%

58%

Figure 8. Representation of the number of participants who have or have not used an app to learn English.

APPS USED
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Duolingo Babbel HelloTalk Others: Tandem,
Youtube…

Apps Used

Figure 9. Different apps used by the participants to learn English.

10
 DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE APPS?
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Duolingo HelloTalk Tandem Babbel Bussu None

DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE APPS?

Figure 10. Apps known by the participants who have not used an app to learn English.

The following figure (Figure 11) shows the reasons why users decided to use an app to
learn English; they could choose more than one option. Most of them used the smartphone
application to improve their English in general, and some to focus on vocabulary. However, it
must be noted that a great deal of the participants used it to learn English on their own, which
is one of the main assets that apps offer. It has been demonstrated that smartphone applications
are a good alternative to learn vocabulary and grammar; conversely, only 7 participants used
the app to improve their pronunciation, which illustrates that most participants are acquainted
with the idea that apps have limited resources to become proficient in speaking. Despite the fact
that they used apps because they had a clear goal, only a small percentage of users have used
the app daily, i.e, most of them have used it weekly or even monthly (Figure 12). Eventually,
Figure 12 below shows that 62% of the learners have had a successful experience with the apps;
and, 59% of the respondents who have never used an app to learn English contemplate the idea
of using them. The rest of the learners are still reluctant to use this type of methodology to learn
a language.

11
 WHY DID YOU USE AN APP TO LEARN ENGLISH?

Others
To learn on my own
Improve my English
Improve Pronunciation
Improve Grammar
Improve Vocabulary

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

WHY DID YOU USE AN APP TO LEARN ENGLISH?

Figure 11. Reasons why participants started using an app.

FREQUENCY OF APP USAGE

Daily Weekly Monthly Hardy Ever

2%7%

37%
54%

Figure 12. Frequency of app usage.

WAS THE APP HELPFUL?

Yes No

38%

62%

Figure 13. Percentage of participants who have considered apps helpful to learn English.

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 WOULD YOU USE SOME OF THE
AFOREMENTIONED APPS TO LEARN ENGLISH?
Yes No, I think they are useless

41%

59%

Figure 14. Depiction of students who do not use apps but consider using one to learn English.

Both of the groups have provided different insights which answer one of the research
questions concerning the benefits and downsides that apps offer. This section will not make any
distinctions between the two groups since all the participants have contributed with their own
arguments. The paper will, indeed, concentrate on the most repeated answers, and on those
which arouse more interest for the study.
One of the main advantages of learning through apps for our participants is the fact that
they are able to create their own schedule; that is, they can choose when and where they want
to practise the foreign language. A number of subjects also highlighted the idea that apps are
an easy and comfortable way of learning because they always have their mobile phones with
them, and as a result, they simply need to open the app to learn English. Apart from these
advantages, a great deal of the participants agreed on how they are cheaper than other alternative
materials such as having a private teacher, and sometimes they are even completely free of
charge. It should be considered that most of the respondents are young adults, and their incomes
and schedules might be limited; hence, they tend to use apps because they are an affordable
alternative to learn the foreign language. Participants consider that apps are useful to learn
specific vocabulary because they can put into practise the vocabulary by using different
strategies such as games, tests, quizzes, and even, chats to interact with other learners. However,
they also realise that apps have limitations such as the lack exposure to real language. Therefore,
apps might be an alternative to traditional learning methods since they provide students with a
great variety of strategies; nevertheless, the students do not receive real input.
Despite these great advantages, most of them have agreed that it is troublesome to learn
a language by only using an app. Even if they offer different strategies to learn the foreign

13
language, users have admitted not being able to be consistent with a schedule; that is, they do
not have the responsibility to attend the lessons. This lack of consistency could be also due to
one of the limitations that apps have since the majority of participants agreed that the activities
are usually repetitive and robotic. This type of activities may make the students enter a process
of fossilization since they are not provided with new sentence-structures to use with the
vocabulary or grammar learnt; consequently, it is complex to achieve a high level of English
uniquely by using these platforms. Despite the aforementioned disadvantages, they
acknowledge that apps are useful for beginner levels, or to complement with traditional learning
methodologies.
It is remarkable that the majority of the respondents have commented on the lack of
human factor; that is, the lack of a teacher to give them feedback, and also the lack of interaction
with learners. The learners considered necessary having a teacher explaining the lessons, also
someone who helps them throughout the whole process; hence, they miss the presence of a
person who can monitor their learning habits. Not only do they complain about the lack of a
teacher but the absence of interchange with other students. The lack of human factor forces
them to focus on vocabulary and grammar, but not in speaking since they do not have partners
with whom they can practise what they have learnt. These apps do not offer the possibility to
practise equally the different skills: speaking, listening, reading writing and use of English. It
is necessary to progress in the different aspects of the language in order to obtain a real
experience with learning a foreign language; however, it is nearly impossible to practise all the
skills, and mostly speaking, by using the aforementioned apps.
It could be concluded that apps provide learners with new methodologies to learn a
foreign language, and even to revise the level they already had before using the app; however,
the majority agreed that the main disadvantage is the lack of human factor since they are not
able to practise all the skills, and therefore, they will not be able to have an advanced level of
English by using an app exclusively. Apps could supplement other English lessons, or they
could help learners expand their vocabulary on particular fields.

5. App Design: A Proposal

As a last question, participants were asked to explain which qualities an app should have in
order to be appealing for them to study English. Participants have given a great deal of input;
therefore, this section of the paper creates the theoretical representation of the idyllic app based
on the their contributions. Despite the fact that it is a theoretical representation, the app will be
named AngloSpeak since it combines two of the most important features of such prototype: the
14
language to be studied, and the importance that this model gives to speaking in relation to other
smartphone applications.
First, it must be highlighted that the proposed app is centred on learners between the
ages of 20 and 30 from the Balearic Islands since the proposal is created from what they have
answered in the questionnaire. However, it might be used by Spanish speakers from all ages.
The application will contain two different subscriptions: a free one and a premium one
which will have a cost. In the free subscription all learners will have access to a chat a forum,
and different exercises to put into practice the contents and concepts learnt. Those who enrol
for the premium subscription will have also access to conferences, private lessons, and
personalised feedback. Since there will be tutors and teachers who explain and provide
feedback, the premium learners will pay their contribution monthly. Furthermore, there will be
advertisements for non-premium users to support the smartphone application.

Image 1. Cover of the free subscription.

The free subscription will contain four different sections in which everybody with a
profile in the app will have access. All students must create a profile with a picture of
themselves, their age, the level of English and a brief description explaining their interests and
hobbies. Other users will be able to see this information and send friend requests to those
profiles that may benefit them in learning English. When the other person accepts the request,
they will be able to engage into a conversation in the chat. It is important to take into

15
consideration this aspect because students should feel comfortable using the app; therefore, they
will be able to choose the type of person they want to start a conversation with, e.g., some
learners may only want to interact with people of their same age, or with similar interests. The
chat will allow students send audios and make video calls, which is one of the main asked
aspects by the participants since they consider that interaction with other learners is essential to
learn the language proficiently. Furthermore, they claimed that it was important to create a
platform which allowed them to practise speaking and pronunciation; the audios and the video
calls make possible to practise speaking, pronunciation and fluency.
There will be a section containing online exercises; this part will be similar to the
applications already mentioned in this paper. There will be different levels: from level 1 which
will correspond to an A1, to level 6 which will correspond to a C2. However, all participants
must start in the first level, and they will have to complete a brief test in order to upgrade, i.e,
they will have to pass different tests to prove that they have a higher level. In each level, there
will be several lessons explaining briefly the grammar and vocabulary, and exercises to practise
the theoretical part of the language. Furthermore, at the end of each lesson students will have
to complete several tasks and tests to proceed to the next lesson. This system allows students
advance from a B1 to a C2, which is something that some apps lack, the possibility to progress.
Since most of them have claimed that these exercises can be repetitive and monotonous, the
app will also include a forum in which all students can participate; they may post texts, videos
or images. The platform will give students a topic to comment every day in case they do not
know what to write about; for instance, students could publish a post describing what they did
on the weekend, or even showing photos or videos and a brief commentary. In fact, the only
condition is that they respect all students, and they use English to communicate with each other.
Therefore, the forum is a space where students learn the language by using their social media
skills, which means that both sections combined do not only allow students learn vocabulary
and grammar, but to put into practice what has been learnt.

16
 Image 3.
2. This
Example
image
of represents
how the appa
Image 3. Example of how the theory would be presented in the app. model of
would present
how the app
exercises.
would pnt the
exercises.

Image 4. Prototype of the forum.

17
 The last component of the free section will contain a large list of links to access different
reading material since another complaint that students had is the lack of reading and listening
practice. A subject suggested creating an app in which there are readings depending on their
preferences, that is why this section will contain a large number of links conducting the reader
to official websites. They will be able to read about the news, literature, science, economics,
education, etc. Apart from reading practice, the app will also suggest podcasts and conferences
such as BBC Podcast or TedTalks to practice listening. In this manner, this section will help
students fulfil two skills which are important to master the language: reading and listening.

Image 5. Cover of the premium subscription.

The premium subscription will complement the free section. It will contain three
complementary sections: conferences and seminars, weekly tutorials and assignments. The
main complaint was the lack of explanations in applications since most of them introduce the
subject matter briefly; furthermore, students claimed that the lack of teachers explaining the
lesson made harder to follow the explanations, and to be consistent with the exercises.
Therefore, this section aims at fulfilling the learners’ requirements regarding the existence of a
human tutor.

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 There will be a section in which a teacher or several teachers will make two conferences
per week explaining grammar, vocabulary and different techniques to use in writing and
speaking. These conferences will be recorded and saved in the app; thus, subscribers will have
permanent access to them. It is crucial to have a teacher explaining the lesson, which is a
characteristic that not many apps have. As a matter of fact, at the end of each online session
students will be able to make questions about the theory explained or doubts which might arise.
There will be interaction between teachers and students to provide learners with solutions and
answers to possible doubts. The interaction between the two parts is undoubtedly necessary to
learn a language proficiently because having a clear explanation facilitates the internalisation
of knowledge; in addition, the teacher will propose different activities which should be
conducted and handed in the enabled section.
The premium learners will hand in assignments weekly; these assignments will be
related to the theory or topics explained in the conferences. These tasks might be exercises,
writings or even recorded speaking practices. Later, they will obtain personalised feedback,
which may be furthered explained in the weekly tutorials. When the teacher corrects a task, a
detailed report with the corrections will be given to the students; hence, they will see their merits
and weaknesses. Apps only provide automatic corrections, which do not contribute to the
learner’s progress; therefore, it is imperative to create a smartphone application that provides
students with individualized feedback, which is essential in order to advance in the learning
process.
Students will be also entitled to an individual tutorial with a teacher every week. The
opportunity to talk to a teacher, who can explain in detail the doubts they may have, is an aspect
that many participants have demanded in the survey. In order to have the tutorial, students will
book their place on the platform: there will be a calendar to select a date and a time. When a
student books a date, the date will be no longer available for other learners; in this way, it is
easier for the teacher to keep track of who has a tutorial. After choosing a slot, students will be
able to add observations to clarify why they want to meet with the educator, e.g., to review the
present tenses, or to correct an activity; thus, the teacher will manage to prepare the tutorial
beforehand. The students could ask questions, doubts, or even practise speaking with the
teacher, that is, they will have the opportunity to practise what interests them most.
Additionally, the meetings will be done online, which makes AngloSpeak be a comfortable app
to use since it allows students choose the place and the time of the tutorial.
It must be concluded that AngloSpeak is a prototype of the idyllic app created from the
contributions and demands of the survey’s participants. The app is created to provide students

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with enough material to learn English autonomously, but also to give them the opportunity of
having a person who can facilitate the learning process. Furthermore, the app is also developed
to assist students in advancing and progressing in their learning process.

6. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research

The main aim of the paper was to learn the number of participants that use apps, and what the
advantages and disadvantages of such use are. The paper has indicated that 42% of the
participants have used a smartphone app to learn English: however, it has also proven that
applications pose a high quantity of limitations to learn English autonomously and proficiently.
The participants’ primary concerned was to learn in an autonomous and comfortable manner;
in addition, they used the apps because they are an alternative to traditional methodologies.
They claimed that one of the main advantages was that smartphone applications are easy to
access because they are in constant contact with their mobile phones. As most of the studies
mentioned in the paper, participants claimed that apps are mostly successful to learn vocabulary
since they present a lot of vocabulary, but they do not give the option of observing vocabulary
in other contexts; in other words, they do not present real language. Furthermore, they claimed
that apps did not explored all the skills required to learn a language; therefore, the learning
experience is limited.
Even if most of the participants are digital natives, the vast majority of them also missed
human contact, and the lack of opportunities to practise speaking and pronunciation. Since
English is a lingua franca, most people are more concerned with knowing how to communicate
orally than to learn complicated sentence-structures. The paper presents an app prototype called
AngloSpeak, which has all the qualities needed to learn English proficiently. The model
contains a chat and a forum, which make possible the interaction between learners; moreover,
it offers a premium section in which students will have access to online lessons and seminars.
A teacher could also monitor the learning process and provide feedback to the students. As it
has been seen in previous studies, teachers demonstrate to be essential because they can help
students process information and understand language must be used.
There are some limitations in this study that should be taken into consideration. The
paper is based on the answers of a homogeneous group of people; the majority of the
participants could be grouped under the same category since they respond to a similar profile.
In addition, the proposed app is presented exclusively from a theoretical perspective; therefore,
it does not take into consideration the complications that could appear when it is converted into
a real software application. Future researchers could create a similar survey answered by a more
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heterogeneous group of people; therefore, the results can vary depending on the age, the sex or
the place of residence of the person answering it since the learning of a foreign language is
culturally subjected. If a future researcher can obtain a larger model, different patterns on the
use of apps to learn a language will demonstrate which sectors of society prefer to use them.
Furthermore, it would be also interesting to create an app with the ideas presented in section 5
of the paper because it could be observed if students use it, and if it is actually helpful for them.

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