VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON THE USE OF MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPLICATIONS ADOPTED BY SECOND- YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC ỨNG DỤNG HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRÊN THIẾT BỊ DI ĐỘNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM Student : LE THI AN Student code : 621212 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI HOAI, M. Hanoi – 2021 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON THE USE OF MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPLICATIONS ADOPTED BY SECOND- YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC ỨNG DỤNG HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRÊN THIẾT BỊ DI ĐỘNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM Student : LE THI AN Student code : 621212 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI HOAI, M. Hanoi – 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In order to complete the graduation thesis with the topic " A study on the use of mobile language learning applications adopted by second – year English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture ”, besides my own constant efforts, I have received a lot of attention and support from teachers, family and friends. I would like to express my sincerest thanks to the teachers in the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University of Agriculture.
In particular, I would like to express my sincerest and deepest thanks to M. Nguyen Thi Hoai for her enthusiastic guidance and support during the process of completing my graduation thesis. I would like to thank my family and friends who always encouraged and helped me when I faced some difficulties. During the process of doing my graduation thesis, I feel that I have learned and experienced many useful things.
From there, let me learn and draw experience for my future working process. My thesis will not be able to avoid limitations and shortcomings. I look forward to receiving comments and suggestions from teachers and classmates to help improve the thesis. i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A study on the use of mobile language learning applications adopted by second – year English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language.
Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis. Hanoi, 2021 Le Thi An Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
v LIST OF ABBREVIATION. vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. vii Part I: INTRODUCTION. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY. SCOPE OF THE STUDY. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. DESIGN OF THE STUDY.
5 Part II: DEVELOPMENT. 7 Chapter I: LITERATURE REVIEW. THE CONCEPT OF MOBILE LEARNING. LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO MOBILE LEARNING.
FEATURES OF MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING. 13 Chapter II: METHODOLOGY. RESEARCH GOVERNING ORIENTATION. Data collecting procedures.
Description of the questionnaire. Description of the interview questions. 18 Chapter III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. RESEARCH QUESTION 1: TO WHAT EXTENT DO SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VNUA USE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING APPS?.
General situation of using foreign language learning applications on mobile devices. The Frequency of using foreign language learning applications on mobile devices. RESEARCH QUESTION 2: TO WHAT EXTENT DO SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VNUA USE DIFFERENT FEATURES OF MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPLICATIONS?. RESEARCH QUESTION 3 : WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON REASONS WHY SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VNUA USE MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPS?.
RESEARCH QUESTION 4: WHAT ARE STUDENTS‟ SUGGESTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF MOBILE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPS?. 31 Part III: CONCLUSION. Limitations of the study. Recommendations/ Suggestions for further study.
46 iv ABSTRACT This study investigate the student's usage of differnt apps., how often the apps is used, and what Suggestions are there for more effectiveness of mobile learning apps for English learning. The survey consisted of closed-ended and open-ended questions and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. In addition, the researcher conducts interviews so that the report is authentic and trustworthy. This study investigates students' use of different apps, how often they use the apps, and what recommendations are there for making mobile English learning apps more effective.
The survey consisted of closed-ended and open-ended questions and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. In addition, the researcher conducts the interviews so that the report is authentic and reliable. The results show that the majority of students use Tflat and Oxford dictionary applications for the purpose of developing vocabulary knowledge. Using a combination of multiple applications is more efficient than using only one.
In addition, a clear study plan is essential for students. v LIST OF ABBREVIATION VNUA : Vietnam National University of Agriculture Apps : applications M : Mean SD : Standard deviation vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.3: English proficiency levels .1: Popular mobile language learning apps among the students .2: Some less popular applications .3: Features of mobile applications .4: Reasons for using. 27 Figure 1: The frequency of using foreign language learning apps on mobile devices. 19 vii Part I: INTRODUCTION 1.
RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY We have entered the Technology 4. With the widespread popularity of phones, computers, and mobile devices now in our pockets, connecting to various information sources and communicating with anyone at any time and from anywhere has become very easy. For teachers, they can innovate their teaching methods so that students are interested in learning. For students, they can adjust their learning methods to improve their English level.
Because of the mobility, availability, and flexibility of these devices, students can study at any time and from any location, even if they do not have access to computers or study materials. As a result, a more personalized and learner-centered experience is possible. Mobile devices give users control over content and pace, which makes them appealing to people who want to take control of their own learning by setting goals and taking the initiative to plan learning activities. Furthermore, mobile devices can strengthen user connections, create favorable conditions for everyone to exchange and learn from each other‟s knowledge and experience.
A mobile application is a piece of software designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. They transform them into mini- environments for study, entertainment, shopping, etc. Foreign language learning apps entail learning, cultivating, and practicing languages. A large number of learning applications are designed and developed as a result of the need to integrate into the community.
According to Jolin (2017), the Apple App Store alone contains more than 350 language-related apps, including TFLAT, DUOLINGO, MEMRISE, OXFORD DICTIONARY, etc. Most lecturers at Vietnam National University of Agriculture have directed their students to use technology to learn English to make their learning easier and to save time. Also, due to the current complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic, students have to study online at home, so the use of 1 technology becomes even more important. In addition, the majority of students continue to struggle with the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing as well as their limited knowledge of vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.
Therefore, I have chosen this research topic to investigate the current use of mobile apps for learning English at Vietnam National University of Agriculture. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study aims to investigate how second-year English majors at VNUA use foreign language learning apps on mobile devices. Specifically, the researcher was interested in the extent to which students used foreign language learning apps as well as their use of various features of foreign language apps on mobile devices. In addition, the research was also conducted to find out the most common reasons why students use mobile language learning apps.
Furthermore, this study was carried out to find some suggestions when using mobile language learning apps from a student's perspective. RESEARCH QUESTION Research question 1: To what extent do second-year English majors at VNUA use foreign language learning apps? Research question 2: To what extent do second-year English majors at VNUA use different features of mobile language learning apps? Research question 3: What are the most common reasons why second- year English majors at VNUA use mobile language learning apps? Research question 4: What are students‟ suggestions for effective use of mobile language learning apps? 1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The research was conducted at VNUA, the second semester of the school year 2020 - 2021. Participants of the study were 124 second-year English majors at VNUA.
The researcher applied the convenient sampling strategy. According to the results, there are 105 questionnaires completed but 7 invalid questionnaires. 2 Therefore, the total number of valid questionnaires collected was 98. Research is limited to second-year students at VNUA.
There are two reasons why the researcher decided to choose them for the study. First, university students have reached a certain level of language acquisition based on their capacity to respond to the survey. To some extent, most second-year students majoring in English have to study many specialized subjects such as Semantics, Phonetics, and so forth; consequently, they need to find dictionary apps to support their learning. Besides, in the 4th semester, due to the influence of the Covid-19 epidemic, they had to study at home rather than going to school, so they found out which foreign language learning apps are good to choose to use for self-study purposes.
The survey was conducted in 5 classes, with the same number of members as shown in Table 1.1: Participants’ classes Class Number of participants K64ENGA 14 K64ENGB 24 K64ENGC 20 K64ENGD 21 K64ENGE 19 Total 98 Participants' genders is shown in the following table 1.2: Genders Gender Participants Percentage (%) Male 7 7% Female 91 93% English proficiency levels of participants is shown in Table 1.3: English proficiency levels English proficiency Percentage Participants Level (%) A2 6 6% B1 56 57 % B2 33 34 % C1 3 3% C2 0 0% 4 1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study aims to find out the use of foreign language learning applications on mobile devices to learn English effectively for second-year students at VNUA. The researcher wishes that this study will make a significant contribution to English learning when completed. The findings of the study will help English teachers at VNUA gain insight into how their students practice English on their own on foreign language learning apps.
With that, teachers could make appropriate decisions about what they could support students in their learning with the apps as well as integrate learning from apps with the curriculum. For students, providing a description of the strategic foreign language learning apps used as well as the difficulties revealed, the researchers wish to raise students' awareness of self-learning through online apps. From the suggestions of students using different language learning apps, students can direct their own learning for better improvement in their language proficiency in general 1. DESIGN OF THE STUDY Abstracts: Summary of the use of mobile language learning applications adopted by second-year English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture.
Approaches, results of research, conclusions. List of abbreviations, graphs, tables and figures: The rest of the study comprises three parts as follows: In part one: Introduction present rationale of study, Aim and objectives of study, Research questions, Scope of study, Significance and Design of study. In part two: Development: consist of 3 chapters as follows: Chapter 1: (Literature review), the researcher investigates prior literature to clarify some major terms in the study.