The Effect of the Mobile Application on Students’ Achievement, Readiness and Technology Acceptance

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a mobile learning application for teaching vocabulary learning in order to support English as a foreign language education and to test its effectiveness. In this study, carried out in two phases, the multi-phase mixed method, which allows using qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. In the first phase (Phase 1), a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) application was developed. At this phase, the study group consists of 14 students who have previously taken English courses in web-supported learning environments at a university. In accordance with the ADDIE model, a needs analysis was carried out first, the application was developed in the light of the results and in line with the opinions of the field experts, and the application was finalized with pilot studies. In the second phase of the study (Phase 2), the effectiveness of the mobile learning application was tested. For this purpose, the effects of MALL application on students' academic achievement, technology acceptance and technological readiness were examined. For this study, an experimental study lasting four weeks was conducted using a quasi-experimental design. In the experimental study, whose study group consisted of 61 students taking English courses at the same university; as pre-test and post-test, achievement tests and scales were administered to the experimental and control groups. According to the data obtained from the study, it was found that the mobile assisted language learning environment is more effective than the web supported learning environment in terms of students’ academic achievement; however, no significant difference was observed on students' acceptance levels and readiness. As a result of the research, it is recommended that MALL applications should be used to support language learning. Additionally, it is thought that this study can be a guide for researchers who want to conduct studies for developing mobile-assisted language learning applications.