Enhancing students´ vocabulary at the preparatory course using mobile learning

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(1)ENHANCING STUDENTS´ VOCABULARY COURSE USING MOBILE LEARNING. AT. THE. PREPARATORY. LA MEJORA DEL VOCABULARIO DE LOS ESTUDIANTES DEL CURSO PREPARATORIO MEDIANTE EL USO DEL APRENDIZAJE POR EL MOVIL Lilibet Bande González ¹, Juana Idania Pérez Morales2 15th. Year Student of the Degree Course: English Language with French as a. second foreign language at the Universidad Central «Marta Abreu» de Las Villas, Cuba. Correo: lbande@uclv.cu 2Full. ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5675-7107. Professor of the English Language Department at the Universidad Central. «Marta Abreu» de Las Villas. PhD in Pedagogical Sciences. Participates in the research projects: “Cuban and Latin-American identity and studies on Humanities in the central region of Cuba” (national scope) and in the Project “Learning Assessment for the development of English communicative language skills of students at the Universidad Central «Marta Abreu» de Las Villas (institutional with national scope). Correo: juanap@uclv.edu.cu ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3121-9254 _______________________________________________________________ Abstract. Central «Marta Abreu» de Las Villas. Learning today´s. English world. is. and. essential the. in. learning. the Preparatory course students face some. process goes beyond the mastery of. vocabulary,. the four basic skills; it requires the learner. to. have. a. significant. limitations. concerning. evidenced. in. some. communication. breakdowns. when. communicating. in. English.. The. vocabulary range in order to perform. purpose of this research is to propose. efficiently in a given area. This can be. the creation of an app to broaden. done. students’. by. pedagogy autonomy. using. mobile. learning task.. vocabulary. to. foster. learners’. students’ fluency when communicating. in the. in English. A qualitative methodology. At the Universidad. was used in the study including some. encouraging and. learning. involvement.

(2) methods. from. the. theoretical,. Las Villas, los estudiantes del curso. empirical and mathematical level. As a. Preparatorio. result, it was evidenced that students’. limitaciones. lack of vocabulary is due to the fact. vocabulario, lo que se manifiesta en. that some topics are taught in all the. problemas de comunicación cuando. skills and hence the vocabulary is. intentan realizar esta actividad en el. more consolidated while others are. idioma inglés. El objetivo de esta. dealt in only one skill resulting in poor. investigación es proponer la creación. systematization.. was. de una aplicación para ampliar el. necessary to design an app for the cell. vocabulario de los estudiantes y así. phones to provide the vocabulary in. fomentar la fluidez de los estudiantes. those topics and skills that students. al comunicarse en inglés. Para esta. need for communicating efficiently.. investigación. Therefore,. Keywords:. it. information. and. communication technologies; mobile learning;. teaching. and. learning. process; vocabulary range. metodología. enfrentan con. algunas. respecto. se. utilizó. cualitativa. al. una. incluyendo. algunos de los métodos de los niveles empíricos, teóricos y matemáticos. Como resultado se evidenció que la falta de vocabulario de los estudiantes. Resumen. se debe a que algunos temas son Aprender inglés es esencial en la. tratados en todas las habilidades y por. actualidad y el proceso de aprendizaje. tanto están bien consolidados; sin. va más allá del dominio de las cuatro. embargo, otros temas solo se tratan. habilidades. básicas; este proceso. en una sola habilidad lo que resulta en. necesita que el estudiante tenga un. una pobre sistematización. Por tanto,. rango de vocabulario significativo para que. pueda. eficientemente. desarrollarse en. un. área. fue necesario diseñar una app para el teléfono celular que le propiciara el vocabulario de los temas en esas. determinada. Este objetivo se puede. habilidades. que. los. cumplir a través de la pedagogía. necesitaban. para. comunicarse. apoyada en el uso del móvil que estimula. la. autonomía. de. estudiantes de. manera eficiente.. los. estudiantes y su participación en el. Palabras clave: tecnologías de la. proceso. información. de. aprendizaje.. En. la. Universidad Central «Marta Abreu» de. y las. comunicaciones,. aprendizaje por el móvil, proceso de.

(3) enseñanza y aprendizaje; gama de. Also, when listening to a recording it is. vocabulario. essential that the students are able to recognize at least the most important. .. words to have a general idea of the. INTRODUCTION. recording’s topic. Although this may. Mastering a wide vocabulary range is. be attained in some occasions with an. crucial for foreign language learners.. average. First of all, it is necessary to clarify. subject, it may prove to be insufficient. that without vocabulary knowledge is. if specific details that are not easily. impossible. communicate. grasped are required. Furthermore, it. complex ideas, that is exactly the main. has been proven that the level a. goal pursued by foreign language. student. learners:. express. recording is directly proportional to the. themselves using a certain foreign. depth of vocabulary knowledge. There. language.. is a simple reason that the human. to. to. fully. properly. knowledge. is. able. to. of. the. given. understand. a. brain is unable to understand a word When studying a foreign language most of the amount of the available. when the person has never heard it before and if the missing word cannot. time is employed in the improvement. be inferred there is no possible mean. of four basic skills (speaking, writing,. for the student to obtain the desired. reading and listening); however, no. information.. matter which of these four skills refer to, vocabulary knowledge will always. Referring specifically to the reading. be indispensable to properly progress. skill, the lack of vocabulary has been. in. that. skill’s. development.. For. identified. as. the main reason to. example, having a wide vocabulary. prevent students’ fully understanding. range enables students to produce. of a given text, due to the importance. complete spoken and written texts,. of. which would be almost impossible to. knowledge regarding the topic that is. achieve if they do not know the. presented to us with the purpose of. specific words they need to express in. easing the reading process. As it has. the. been stated here, possessing a wide. process. (Alqahtani, 2015). of. communication.. having. range. a. solid. vocabulary. of vocabulary is crucial to. master all the different components.

(4) that integrate the process of learning a. students. foreign. an. written and spoken texts on a given. essential pillar which supports all the. topic even if they had been in contact. knowledge we have regarding that. with it before. This limitation takes. foreign language and also allows us to. place since students learn over one. broaden it with its own enhancement.. hundred words per year and there is. language,. making. it. no After analyzing the essential role of vocabulary in the study of a foreign language it is stated, that the students who have some difficulties related to vocabulary. knowledge. performance during. the. constantly continuous. see. their. undermined assessment.. This situation takes places in the context of the Preparatory course with some students of the degree course English Language. with a Second. Foreign Language: French; at the Central University «Marta Abreu» of Las. Villas.. receive. Those. poor. language. students. grades. in the. often four. skills, specifically in the. assessment. descriptor:. vocabulary. range. This is due to the lack of ideas and specific vocabulary on the topic they are discussing. The. is. published. approach. to. problem. 1984).. In. and. addition,. sometimes. instruction. they. usually. fail. to. infer. the. meaning of certain expressions due to the. lack. of. previous. vocabulary. knowledge, which would allow them to better. analyze. Furthermore,. the. the. discourse.. lack. of a. wide. vocabulary range is one the main limitations. to. fully. develop. the. scanning and skimming skills during the reading process; being one of the causes of the poor results presented by the students in the reading skill. According to Agustin (2009) building skills. improves. reading. comprehension and reading fluency.. vocabulary,. Writing, since they demand greater. an. general idea of a specific recording. productive. and. vocabulary. for. struggle too hard to understand the. So,. Speaking. evidence. 500 words per year (Nagy & Herman,. has been observed mostly in the skills:. complex. that could result in the learning of over. vocabulary. previously mentioned. in producing. without. building. students. a. cannot. large read. successfully. (p.26). vocabulary knowledge for attaining a satisfactory result. One of the most common limitations observed in the. To identify this problem, the authors based themselves on the empirical.

(5) evidence provided from their personal. without a textbook that really focuses. experience. language. on vocabulary resorting to alternative. learners and teachers. According to. sources that are not always the most. Meara (1980), it is necessary to state. reliable ones. As most of the problems. clear that vocabulary acquisition has. require vast resources to be solved,. been acknowledged as the single. the authors would like to guide their. greatest source of problems students. efforts. have to overcome when learning a. solution. foreign language. (p.25). range. as. foreign. Another important reason for this lack of vocabulary is the limited exposure. towards. finding a possible. for. enhancing. vocabulary. and. promoting. vocabulary. acquisition and consolidation in the Preparatory course.. to the linguistic environment of the. Following that course of action, it is. foreign. necessary. language. studied.. For. to. highlight. that. the. example, if students are obliged to. implementation of ICTs (Information. constantly use the foreign language in. and. everyday life communication this will. has showed very positive results in. consequently develop their language. aiding. knowledge. A third difficulty students. foreign language and specifically in. face is the lack of bibliography with. vocabulary acquisition. For instance,. respect to vocabulary of the course as. recent literature has proved that ICTs. such.. can be a powerful tool in a language. In fact, in the Preparatory course, students work with the Face to Face Series of textbooks and it is evidenced that the syllabus and lessons do not systematize. the. new. vocabulary. enough for its consolidation at the elementary. and. intermediate. level.. Despite the obstacle this represents it is understandable because the Face to Face Series has a vocabulary book; however, this book is not available for the. students, leaving. the students. Communication. the. Technologies). process of learning a. classroom; having a lot to offer to the students. who. enhance. their. vocabulary and develop their speaking and. reading. professors. role. skills, change. while. the. from only. being a teacher to also be a facilitator who will help them fully understand and work with these new technologies. The lesson approach also changes because instead of being centered on the professor the focus of attention passes to the learners, who are now.

(6) the. protagonists. much more. is presented to the authors: Internet.. freedom to act and play a truly active. This service is of great utility but in. role in the learning process. As it was. Cuba the access to it is restricted;. to be expected, Internet is in the. hence, an educational tool mostly. center of this educational revolution as. based on it would not be functional.. the mean to acquire all the needed. The solution is not to close the doors. implements. foreign. to progress but to adequate the new. example,. educational strategies to the Cuban. language. with. to. support. learners.. For. virtual classes provide a stress-free. specific. environment where the students feel. develop a tool using the ICTs that. freer to express themselves without. does. the tension of being in an actual. function.. classroom. Also, Internet provides the means for having a vast amount of literature in the chosen language at the reach of the hand, motivating learners to read about the topic of their choosing without having to make an effort to find it. The same happens. The. context, which means: to. not rely on the Internet to. lack. of. bibliography for the. Preparatory course students to study vocabulary, leads. to find and. alternative using the new technologies and. to. analyze. this. problematic. enhance. the. Preparatory. situation:. with movies and songs, always at the. How. disposal of any willing student, even. course. offering the possibility of downloading. through the ICTs?. the subtitles of the movies and the. us. to. students’. vocabulary. range. The overall aim of this article is:. lyrics of the songs in their original language. development. All. this of. favors the. the. learners’.  To propose an app for enhancing students’. vocabulary range. vocabulary because it is an attractive. Preparatory course. approach to the subject of study and. learning.. at the. through mobile. at the same time it is accessible to the majority of the population.. MOBILE. LEARNING. AND. ITS. IMPLEMENTATION IN TEACHING In spite of all the advantages offered by the ICTs in the field of vocabulary range enhancement a major obstacle. AND LEARNING VOCABULARY IN ENGLISH. AS. A. FOREIGN.

(7) LANGUAGE.. THEORETICAL. language skills. The 5R model is. CONSIDERATIONS. better seen as a dynamic circulatory. Strategies for learning vocabulary. system in which loops and sub-cycles. In recent years, vocabulary acquisition. are likely (Figure 1).. has. attention, and. This ideal way of helping vocabulary. and front-line teachers. learning involves a circulating process,. received. researchers are. more. increasingly. involved. in. this. allowing for retrogression from lapses. research field. (Song & Chen, 2017). in attention or memory under condition. Brown and Payne (1994, in Shen,. of. 2003, p.14) proposed. a five-step. encapsulate the general dynamics that. learning:. learners use to learn vocabulary. In. encountering new words, getting the. this process model, techniques may. word form, getting a clear image,. be emphasized differently from step to. learning the meaning of the words,. step. Each of the steps may involve. and using the words. Renaming these. backward as well as forward loops.. steps, vocabulary learning strategies. Most learners will progress forwards. can be grouped into 5R processes:. cumulatively in the long term and will. receiving,. therefore,. model. for. vocabulary. recognizing,. retrieving, and. retaining,. recycling. in four. stress.. Also,. it. seems. compensate. to. for. retrogressive. loops.. Figure 1. Stages of vocabulary learning- a 5R model involving loops Using mobile learning for. Technological. enhancing vocabulary. undeniable. and. advancements scientific. are. literature. supports its contribution to education..

(8) For instance, some authors talk about. formal education; but also it includes. the creation of a teaching environment. the adult learners for whom mobile. by using a multimedia classroom so. learning is as effective as for the. that students can grasp the sound,. others.. shape,. meaning. improve. their. (Jiachun. &. of. use. Jie,. words, of. and. vocabulary. 2016).. However,. others proposed the use of different modalities such as animation mode which can help students understand deeply the meaning of vocabulary expression. (Huanhong, 2016) Although. there. controversies. some. regarding. mobile. education; most authors focus their on. devices their. the present. advantages and. pedagogical. that mobile phones help adult learners to memorize words in a convenient manner (Hu, 2011).. As they cannot. devote. enough time to study the. lengthy. paper. vocabulary. lessons,. mobile phones facilitate the learning process since they allow the use of. are. devices and the role they play in. work. Moreover, some studies have proved. mobile. acknowledge potential. for. delivering learning content.. reach. media. Watching. when. videos,. appropriate.. reading. online. newspapers or even playing word games on the phone are some of the off-campus activities both young and adult learners. can engage in for. enhancing vocabulary. So far, it can be stated that in terms of. Mobile devices provide information, guidance. and. learning. experience. both inside and outside the classroom. “Their portability gives more flexibility to the learner to carry out collaborative activities inside classroom. Learners can move, interact, and participate while carrying their mobile devices” (Bashar & Ghrieb, 2015). It is crucial to keep in mind that when referring to the word learner the researchers do not. limit. the. term. only. to. the. youngsters who undertake any level of. memorizing assisted relieve. vocabulary,. vocabulary the. mobile. learning. burden. of. can. learning. especially in situation where. self-. regulated learners lack the ability to learn in an autonomous manner. The repeated. exposure. to. vocabulary. items on a daily basis via mobile phones is conducive to enhanced vocabulary people. learning. have. Since. access. to. most this. technology, it is an excellent means for assuring vocabulary learning. Due.

(9) to its portability and its user-friendly operating system people can easily. From the empirical level: . Document analysis: It was used. interact with their phones and continue. to. the. vocabulary that is considered in. learning. process. outside. the. find. out the. amount of. classroom; as a result, learners can. the. undergo this process at anytime and. process of the subject English. anywhere.. Language in the Preparatory. teaching. and. learning. course. Also, to review the. METHODOLOGY. bibliography that is used to After analyzing the current situation. identify shortages or difficulties. regarding the problem in this research. in order to create the database. context. for the proposal of the app.. in. respect. to. students’. vocabulary. range,. the. authors. considered. both. quantitative. approaches. accomplishment. qualitative. of. the. for. . Survey and. Interviews: They. and. allowed the researcher to get. the. the professors’ and students’. research. opinions. and. perceptions. purposes. Throughout the research. regarding the importance of the. process, some methods of different. proposal. levels were applied such as:. vocabulary.. From the theoretical level:. Sample:. . Analysis. and. establishing. synthesis: the. . Structural-systemic:. From. throughout the whole research. . statistical. and. Table. analysis. and. graph. order to group data in different classes and to distribute the. systematized view.. absolute. This. generalization about the topic at a global level from particular. frequencies. and. percentage and describe the. reasoning made possible the. elements.. the. representation: It was used in. the proposal from a logical and. Inductive-deductive:. and. mathematical level:. process and in the design of. . students. course.. research. used. The. enhancing. professors from the Preparatory. for. process foundations.. for. results. . Sampling. Technique. and. Sample Size: In selecting the participants,. an. intentionally.

(10) selected. . sampling. procedure. The. main objectives of the. was employed. In this case,. research were explained to the. Preparatory course students as. participants, as well as the. well as the professors involved. positive impact it could have on. in the teaching of this course.. the. Percentage. teaching and learning process. and. analysis:. to. obtained. from. statistics. process. data. of. the. of. subject. the. English. Language for the Preparatory. software IBM SPSS Statistics. course and more specifically on. 21 was used.. the. and. surveys.. improvement. The. Sample. research. methods. description . . vocabulary. learning. process. The research work had. all. the. support. The research was carried out in. collaboration. the. department authorities and staff. context. of. the. English. Language. second. foreign. French. at. the. course. from. and the. a. in providing all the necessary. language:. information in respect to the. with. Universidad. topic.. Central «Marta Abreu» de Las. RESULTS DERIVED FROM THE. Villas;. NEEDS. specifically,. in. the. Preparatory course. In selecting the participants, an intentional and. reasoned. sampling. criterion was employed. The sample was composed by 28 students and 5 professors who are currently involved in the teaching of the course as well as some department authorities including. the. head. of. ANALYSIS. OF. THE. RESEARCH CONTEXT The results are described following the information obtained from the different research methods using triangulation of sources and methods. Results information. derived provided. from by. the the. research methods -Document analysis. the. department, the head of studies. Five documents were analyzed during. and. English. the investigation process, those were. Language discipline. Therefore,. the Curriculum “E” and the syllabus of. there were 35 participants in. each of the skills: Speaking, Writing,. total.. Listening and Reading.. the. head. of.

(11) The Curriculum of the degree course. perform. is the latest modification of the study. communication. curricula, introduced in the academic. speakers and non-Spanish speakers,. year. 2018-2019.. It. disciplines. and. the. English. Language.. as. mediators. in. between. the. Spanish. includes. 13. from English or the second foreign. backbone. is. language to Spanish and vice versa.. Didactics,. In. addition,. the. students. to. be. Interpreting and Translation are going. professors have to teach English or. to be the two outputs of students’. the second language or/and carry out. specialization.. research on the linguistic area.. In respect to the structure of the. Their professional performance will be. English. mainly in areas of tourism, higher. comprises. Language the. discipline,. subjects:. it. English. education. institutions,. editorials,. Language I, II, III, IV, V, VI, that are. newspapers, entities concerned with. taught in each semester of the first,. interpreting and translation, etc.. second and third year respectively. The subject English Language for the Preparatory Course is not included in the curriculum since those students are not part of the degree course yet, but it is the ground subject for the rest of the years. It is a requirement of this subject to be graded with the marks 4 and 5 to get promoted to the first year.. The Reading syllabus is designed with the. contents. Reading. and. from. the. thinking. textbook. in English. published by The British Council in 1979. This book concentrates on the language used to organize information in written passages. The title of each unit refers to a particular method of organizing and presenting information.. The main descriptors analyzed were. This organization is expressed by a. the general objective for the degree. certain. course,. structures. fields. and. areas. of. professional performance.. interpreters/translators. and. vocabulary.. The general objective, related to the two. number. specializations: and. professors. It states that the students to be interpreters/translators have to. of a. Each. grammatical. certain kind unit,. of. therefore,. includes: a. reading. comprehension. exercises to help the student to obtain passage. information by. from. following. a the. writer’s method of organization..

(12) b. exercises to draw attention to the. way. vocabulary. grammar are. used. is strong emphasis on reviewing and. and. recycling in every unit, including Quick. in. Reviews at the beginning of each. achieving this organization.. lesson.. Both types of exercise are designed to. The Listening syllabus is designed. develop. which. with the contents from the textbook. students will be able to apply to the. Listening Extra, a resource book of. passages they may need to read as. multi-level skills activities designed by. part of their studies. The course leads. Miles. students on to simplified passages so. Cambridge University Press in 2004.. that they can practice how to apply. Each. these reading strategies.. authentic. The Speaking syllabus is designed. specific. with the contents from the textbook. listening. Face to Face Elementary and Pre-. emotions or listening for opinions. It. Intermediate. It is focused on almost. has materials for students of all levels,. all. from. reading. the. aspects. intonation,. strategies. of. the. pronunciation,. speech: grammar. Craven. activity. and. is. designed. scenarios listening for. published. and skills,. details,. elementary. by. around practices. such. as. identifying. to. upper. intermediate, making it an excellent. and vocabulary, to mention some.. resource. Each of them has 12 units with the. recordings offer a range of genres. topics which deal with everyday life. from radio and television to academic. situations and experiences in English. lectures,. language. The books progress in the. conversational. language. the. are also exposed to a variety of native. vocabulary range. Face to Face is fully. and non-native speaker accents. Each. compatible. recording. complexity. with. The. and. Common. for every staffroom. The. presentations dialogues.. only. and Students. comprises. two. European Framework of Reference for. matching exercises.. Languages and gives students regular. The Writing syllabus is designed with. opportunities. their. the contents from the textbook Writing. its key features. Workshop. Its purpose is to teach. to. progress. Among people. can. find. evaluate. interactive. students. Language Summary which includes all. coherent. new. and. appropriate for a particular audience. functional language. Moreover, there. and purpose. It teaches the student to. vocabulary,. an. grammar. to write short pieces of and. cohesive. discourse.

(13) write. longer,. better-. types. Writing. Chapter 10 is a consolidation unit.. Workshop has ten chapters. The first. Students are given information, an. presents the basic ideas of the text:. audience, and a purpose for writing.. organized. tighter. and. paragraphs.. a. There. is. a. functional. of. examination. questions.. They must select appropriate patterns to organize each set of facts.. relationship. between. sentences.. These. Although the focus of the book is. relationships are signaled by. writing, the other skills are integrated.. words. discourse. For example, in order to gather data. markers. Discourse markers. for their writing, students engage in. familiar to the student (and,. either reading or speaking/listening. but,. called. so). introduce. are the. used. to. activities. The questions on the model. concept. of. paragraph give de students practice in. functional relationships.. both discourse analysis and note-. b. Paragraphs are groups of related with. sentences. one. dealing. topic. Concerns. such as audience, purpose, topic. sentence,. concluding. support,. sentence,. and. organization of content are introduced.. taking. There is a wide scope of topics to stimulate. interest.. contemporary. Those. concern. of. include. subjects such as environment (nuclear waste disposal, air, water and noise pollution), computers and society, the economy. (inflation,. unemployment),. In each of Chapters 2 through 9 a. and. different. is. violence in cities, feminism). Students. and. can also choose to write about their. comparison,. own experience if they select topics. organizational. considered: support,. pattern. generalization. enumeration,. sociological changes (divorce,. definition, cause and result, and static. such. description,. history, politics, or education system.. On. the. whole,. these. chapters are divided into three parts: Sentences, Paragraphs and ExamType Questions. The latter section shows how the pattern taught in the chapter can be used to answer certain. as. their. country´s. customs,. By the end of the document analysis, it was possible to identify the topics taught in each skill (Table 1), which served as a basis for the application of.

(14) other methods such as surveys and. interviews.. Table 1. List of topics per skill Topics/Skills. Personal information Family Daily activities Homes Towns and countries Travel and tourism Food and drink Describing people Describing things Friends and relationships Health and fitness Leisure time Education The world of work Money Past experiences and stories Science and technology Social and environmental issues Shopping/Clothes. Speaking Elementary PreIntermediate X X X X X. Listening. X X X X X. X. X. X. X X. X X. X. X. X. X X. X X. X. X. X. X (only health). X(only health) X X X X. X. X X X X. X X. X X. X. X. X. X X. 28 students of the current Preparatory. Statistics 21.. course twice. In both surveys the. and. X. X. using. questions. X. X X X X X. The researchers decided to survey the. employed. Writing. X X X X. Crime -Survey to the students. researchers. Reading. Yes. or No. multiple-choice. questions. The data were processed. the. X. X. X (only clothes) X. X. software. IBM. SPSS. The first survey aimed at getting the students´. insights. concerning. their. own vocabulary range, the availability of. bibliography. for. learning. and.

(15) assessing. vocabulary, their frailest. The results revealed that the topics to. aspects of vocabulary and the best. be included in the vocabulary app are:. typology of exercises for learning and. health. assessing vocabulary.. education, cities, crime, environment,. The results clearly materialized the researchers´ students´. ideas. situation.. regarding. the. 64%. the. of. students agreed that their vocabulary range in insufficient. Also, 68% of the students recognized that the available bibliography is still not sufficient in terms. of. learning. and. assessing. vocabulary. Moreover, in respect to the aspects of vocabulary students identified phrasal verbs, lexical fields and collocations, respectively, as the most difficult aspects to cope with. However, as an alternative to reverse this situation, the students identified fill-in the blank, guessing meaning from context and word formation as the best exercises to deal with matter. The. second. survey. aimed. at. and. fitness,. entertainment,. business and technology. The main reasons. students. gave. for. this. selection are that most of them have too much vocabulary to be covered at once; they lack vocabulary concerning some of these topics; and these topics are not dealt in each of the skills. -Interviews to the professors Thoroughly. interviews. to. the. professors of the course and some department authorities were carried out in order to know the professors opinions. about. assessment. the. of. teaching the. and. students´. vocabulary taking into account the skills each of them teaches. In total, 5 professors. were. interviewed.. The. interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for a detailed analysis of. determining the topics students find. the information.. most difficult to cope with and the. The following verbalizations illustrate. reasons. professors´ opinions on the current. for. this. situation;. consequently, the topics chosen will. situation. be the ones included in the app for the. vocabulary range and the availability. students to enhance their vocabulary. of bibliography for teaching/learning. range. This survey was conducted. and. taking into account the topics taught in each skill (Table 1).. regarding. assessing. the. students´. vocabulary..

(16) Table 2. Verbalizations of the professors Categories Verbalizations 1 Evaluation of the students´ “They all present a vocabulary range current vocabulary. according. to. the. level. they. are. supposed to have; however, they are easily satisfied with the vocabulary taught and do not try to improve it.” 2. Expectations students´. regarding. vocabulary. the “Since. the. English. taught is. for. range communicative purposes we do not. by the end of the course. expect. the. students. to. have. a. specialized vocabulary but just to know the basics for communication in formal and informal situations.” 3. Opinions about the existence “There is not enough bibliography to of a bibliography to teach and perform these activities. We have the assess vocabulary. Face to Face Series in speaking; however, it keeps recycling the same vocabulary and add just two or three mew words here and there.”. 4. Methods and techniques used to teach and assess vocabulary. “Systematic. evaluation. and. the. establishment of more demanding objectives; but we need to take into account their current level in order to determine. which. methodology. to. follow.” 5. Suggestions in order to improve students´ vocabulary range. The creation of a vocabulary database will be useful; of course, it should include some exercises and try to assess them in an interactive way. “ “The new generations are very fond of technology. I think it should be a digital.

(17) aid, maybe a platform, that would help students. to. learn. and. practice. vocabulary. However, it cannot be taught in isolation, there must be a context; if not it would not be much different from a dictionary.” The interview to the professors and. more pleasant and fun for the students. department authorities provided the. to learn using an app they could have. researchers with the main tools to. access easily. determine the importance of creating an. app. for. enhancing. students´. vocabulary range. The interviews also complemented the information given by the students in the survey. They also showed that the faculty and the department have well-prepared and qualified staff able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly in order to improve the teaching. and. learning. process. of. vocabulary. Summing up, the current bibliography is insufficient in terms of learning and. Building the English Vocabulary app. (EVApp). for. enhancing. students´ vocabulary range From the needs analysis presented above, it was decided to design the vocabulary app in an attempt to meet students’. needs. teaching. and. and. enhance the. learning. Therefore,. EVApp,. Vocabulary. App. the. was. process. English elaborated. considering the theoretical framework presented, in addition to the results of the needs analysis.. assessing vocabulary. Moreover, all. EVA. the skills do not emphasize on the. enriched. same. sources such as the World Health. topics.. The. professors´. includes texts. a. wide. variety of. taken from reliable. of. Organization, WHO, and newspapers. creating a digital aid in order to help. like The Guardian. Moreover, some of. students to enhance their vocabulary. the vocabulary items are presented. range. the. through pictures; technique which has. advance and use of technologies and. proven to be more than efficient when. specifically the use of mobile learning. it comes to recalling words. The. in the educational field. It would be. pictures were also taken from reliable. statements. reaffirm. taking. the. advantage. need. of.

(18) sources. like. to preview layouts on multiple screen. www.picturedictionaryonline.com,. configuration;. website. Merriam. Device (Emulator) to run and debug. Webster and The New Oxford Picture. apps in the Android studio and Lint. Dictionary. tools to catch performance, usability,. sponsored. (1988).. by. Regarding. the. exercises for assessing vocabulary, it. version. needs to be said that they were. problems.. designed on the students requests. The exercises do not limit the students to the simple activity of selecting the correct answer; but make them the responsibles of creating it, it is the same principle which underlies word games such as the hangman.. an. Android. compatibility. Virtual. and. other. For designing EVA, the researchers decided to take into account the principles stated by Wilbert O. Galitz in The. Essential. Guide to User. Interface Design, an Introduction to GUI. Design. Principles. and. Techniques.. In order to create the app several. -Aesthetically pleasing. platforms were consulted some of. A. them. pleasing composition, is attractive to. were:. TheAppBuilder,. Mobile. Roadie,. Andriod. Studio,. design. the. aesthetic,. eye.. It. or. visually. draws. AppMachine, Netbeans, etc. Finally,. subliminally, conveying. Android. software. clearly and quickly. A lack of visually. selected for creating the app. Android. pleasing composition is disorienting,. Studio. integrated. obscures the intent and meaning, and. development environment (IDE) for. slows down and confuses the user.. Android application development. It is. (2007, p.46). based on the IntelliJ IDEA, a Java. Galitz states that this principle divides. integrated. development environment. itself into two different components. for software, and incorporates its code. such as use of color and creation of. editing and developer tools. Among its. groups; the last component will be. features, it can be found template-. explained. based wizards to create common. description section.. Android designs and components; a. Color. rich layout editor that allows users to. Many. drag-and-drop UI components, option. concerning colors and their effects on. Studio. is. the. was. the. official. in. have. the. been. a. attention message. home. the. page. studies.

(19) emotions. have. Although. some. authors. -Clarity and Familiarity. contradictory views in some. In both principles, Galitz defends that. aspects, they agree in others. For. the interface must be clear in visual. example,. appearance, concept, and wording.. the. predominant. color color. blue,. the. the. app,. in. Visual. elements. should. be. symbolizes peace, spaciousness and. understandable, relating to the user’s. acceptance. When the human eye. real-world. perceives blue wavelengths, it causes. (2007, p.51). Metaphors are the key. the. calming. elements to achieve them; however,. chemicals. Moreover, people who are. they will be explained in the home. surrounded. page section.. body. to. produce. in. a. blue-colored. concepts. and. functions. environment are more likely to be flexible and serene; thus, they become more efficient at work. Furthermore, it has been proven that cool colors such as. blue. effects;. have. positive. therefore,. the. intellectual researchers. decided to select this color for the. -Efficiency and simplicity Eye and hand movements must not be wasted.. One’s. attention. must. be. captured by relevant elements of the screen when needed. Sequential eye movements between screen elements should be predictable, obvious, and. vocabulary app.. short. (p.56) In order to attain these However, when designing an app, a. principles eyes and hands movements. maximum of three colors is allowed,. were minimized, the interface was. regardless of the colors white and. made. black, indispensable for the font color. maintaining a consistent layout, and. and other features. After reviewing. the user´s wants and needs were. some bibliography, the researchers. anticipated whenever possible.. as. simple. as. possible. decided to incorporate the color red. Description of the home page. highlighted by a black background.. of the EVApp. This. decision. was. made. after. The home page is the first displayed in. analyzing the acceptance of certain. the. colors combinations which figures in. application of the principles stated. Programming. above. As. the. user. interface:. principles and examples by Brown and Cunningham.. app. and. it. evidences. the. it was mentioned the. creation of groups and the use of.

(20) metaphors will be explained in this section. -Creation of groups The researchers decided to present the information organized into different categories. The vocabulary items will not be presented in a list format as most of the vocabulary apps do; instead they will be classified into the different topics which were identified in the needs analysis and presented in a context. Moreover, within each topic there are various subtopics which also include texts and vocabulary items. Figure. related to them.. vocabulary app. 2.. Home. page. of. the. -Use of metaphors Metaphors should be realistic and simple. Just from look at it, students can easily identify the topics the app covers. without. placing. labels. to. identify them, which contributes to their. visual. learning. and. Currently, the proposal of EVApp is in the stage of piloting for. further. implementation. improvement. of. the. contents before being given to the specialists for their evaluation. CONCLUSION. understanding.. ICTs. are. tools. of the student-. The user has two options:. centered approach, which seeks to. 1- Select a topic and learn the. make of the professor a facilitator. vocabulary related to it, and. and of the student the center of the. then go to the exercises or,. teaching/learning. 2- Go directly to the exercises.. process.. The. application of mobile learning has. This page also provides a section up. proven. to the right, where users may search. vocabulary. for specific information and customize. consolidation in foreign languages.. the app.. From. to. be. acquisition. the. concerning bibliography. beneficial. needs the for. for and. analysis. availability learning. of and.

(21) assessing vocabulary, the results showed. that. there. are. some. limitations regarding the amount of bibliography.. Students. and. professors advocate the creation of programs of collaboration between faculties which could lead to the implementation of new technologies for. attaining. these. purposes.. Hence, the English Vocabulary App has proven to be a solution for this situation. The EVApp contents were selected using a comprehensive approach; always. taking. into. account the. consistency of vocabulary in the different. skills. included. in. the. syllabus of the subject English for Preparatory course. The app was created. using. AndriodStudio. the. and. software. following. the. English learning. Yakarta: State Islamic University. Alqahtani, M. (2015). The importance of vocabulary in language learning and how to be taught. International Journal of Science and Education, 21-34. Bashar, A., & Ghrieb, E. (2015). PDFDrive. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/teach ers-and-students-attitudestowards-the-use-of-mobileassisted-language-learninge33580094.html Galitz, W. O. (2007). The Essential Guide to User Interface Design: An Introduction to GUI Design Principles and Techniques (Third ed.). Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc. Hu, Z. (2011). Vocabulary Learning Assisted by Mobile Phones: Perceptions of Chinese Adult Learners. Journal of Cambridge Studies, 148.. principles stated in the research article. The texts and tasks were taken from reliable sources. Although the EVApp is still in the piloting. stage,. the. professors. considered the proposal as a valid contribution for the improvement of students’. vocabulary. in. the. Preparatory course. REFERENCES Agustin, D. (2009). Correlation between vocabulary size and reading comprehension in. Huanhong, C. (2016). Using MultiModality to Improve the Effect of English Vocabulary Teaching. Chinese Journal of Education, 60-72. Jiachun, Y., & Jie, Z. (2016). The Multimodality of English Vocabulary TeachingCognitive Strategy Model. Education Review, 34-44. Meara, P. (1980). Vocabulay acquisition: A neglected aspect of language learning. Teaching and Linguistics Abstracts..

(22) Nagy, W., & Herman, P. (1984). Limitations of vocabulary instruction . Illinois: University of Illinois. Shen, W.-W. (2003). Current Trends of Vocabulary Teaching and Learning Strategies for EFL Settings. Feng Chia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 14-5.. Song, M., & Chen, L. (2017). A Review on English Vocabulary Acquisition and Teaching Research in Recent 30 Years in China. Science Journal of Education, 174.. Pedagogía y Sociedad publica sus artículos bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución -NoComercial-SinDerivar 4.0 Internacional.

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