8. • ¼ of the population of China is learning English (300
million people)
• In the next 5 years all Chinese schools will teach English
in kindergarten
• All state employees younger than 40 will be required to
master 1,000 English phrases
• “ Numerous obstacles stand in the way of China‟s quest,
including a shortage of good English teachers and the
country‟s test-oriented education system”
• 1 billion people in China use mobile phones (67% of the
population) of which 100 million are smartphones
• 21st century education opportunity: smartphones for
language learning
Source: Indianapolis Business Journal, “Report from China”, March 2011
10. Incidental second language learning
E-book Selected
Personal Game Mobile
words words
vocabulary game
Read
story for Rehearse
vocabulary Practise
vocabulary
sentence
list
construction
Missing
words
15. Research question
Are there differences in the learning of
English vocabulary through reading
novels, depending on the mode of mobile
interaction?
16. Three modes of interaction
• Paper book
Paper book
• e-book reader with English
dictionary
• „ELMO‟: e-book reader with
enhanced software, including E-book
adaptive user modelling and
additional interactivity
Elmo
adaptive system
17. Participants
• 39 students (24 female, 15 male) aged 15-
17 at a Japanese high school
• 3 comparison groups balanced in terms
of English vocabulary and gender
18. Crossover design
Cycle A Cycle B Cycle C
The Hound of The Thirty- Little Women
the nine Steps
Survey and focus groups
Baskervilles
Wk Wk Wk Wk Wk Wk
1 2 3 4 5 6
Post-test three
Gp ELMO e-book book
Base-line test
Post-test two
Post-test one
A
Gp e-book book ELMO
B
Gp book ELMO e-book
C
19. The study
• Pre-test: test of specific vocabulary from the
three novels
• Two weeks to read a novel – students could
decide how much, when and where
• Discussion of novel allowed, but no swapping
• No school implications of results
• Post-test: the same words as in pre-test (scored
out of 30)
24. Interview data
• “Made my eyes tired, so I recommend „paper
book‟”
• “It is good to write down whatever I want on
„paper book‟”
• “I do not want to bring another device with me
other than my mobile phone to read novels”
• “Many say that if a small and light device with a
satisfactory English-Japanese dictionary, smooth
scrolling, less charging is possible, then Adaptive
Device would be best” (Teacher)
25. Conclusions
• The study was carefully set up and rigorously
conducted
• It didn‟t show any particular technology to be
effective in enhancing incidental learning of
English vocabulary
• The technology wasn‟t engaging
• The books were too difficult and boring
• Since the work was not assessed there was
no external motivation
• Japanese teenagers have little or no free
time in the evenings
26. Elmo Mk3 for Android device
Product launch by Sharp in Autumn 2011
29. National and cultural differences
• Education system • Access to powerful personal
• Curriculum technology
• Government education policy • Relations between formal and non-
formal learning
• Access to higher education
• Traditional teaching methods
• Opportunity for field trips and
cultural visits
• Cultural expectations and
inhibitions
• Modes of travel to school or work
• Motivation of young people to
• Adult education and workplace
training (e.g. apprenticeships)
engage in schooling
• Work-life balance
• Computers in schools
• After-school activities
• Leisure and play
30. Africa M4D (mobile learning for Focus on access,
development) emerging contexts, basic
technologies
United States Anytime, anywhere Focus on delivery,
learning relevance
Corporate training
US/Taiwan/Singapore 1to1 learning Focus on personalised
learning in classrooms and
field trips
Europe Contextual learning, Focus on context,
Connected learning community, connecting
formal and informal
learning
Singapore Seamless learning Focus on continuity
Canada/Australia/UK Personalised distance Focus on learning design,
education open content, standards
Japan Ubiquitous learning Focus on availability and
embedding in everyday
world
31. Africa M4D (mobile learning for Focus on access,
development) emerging contexts, basic
technologies
United States Anytime, anywhere Focus on delivery,
learning relevance
Corporate training
US/Taiwan/Singapore 1to1 learning Focus on personalised
learning in classrooms and
field trips
Europe Contextual learning, Focus on context,
Connected learning community, connecting
formal and informal
learning
Singapore Seamless learning Focus on continuity
Canada/Australia/UK Personalised distance Focus on learning design,
education open content, standards
Japan Ubiquitous learning Focus on availability and
embedding in everyday
world
32. Access Relevance
Community Context
Embedding Continuity
Learning
Personalisation
Design
33. Access Relevance
Community Context
Embedding Continuity
Learning
Personalisation
Design
34. Context
In a context Creating a context
“that which “that which
surrounds us” weaves
together”
Source: Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
35. Context as a „shell‟ that surrounds the
human user of technology
Context created by the constructive
interaction between people and
technology
Source: Dourish, P. (2004) What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 8 (1): 19-30.
36. Learning in context
Data
filtering and
integration
Data
filtering and
integration
Computer User
Context
38. CAGE system
• Navigation in a conceptual
space through physical
movement
• Location-based content
delivery
• Ultrasound tracking system
• Context awareness:
– which painting?
– how long?
– been there before?
40. An interaction view of
context
• Context is a dynamic and historical
process
• to enable appropriate action
(learning)
• constructed through interaction
between
people, settings, technologies, obje
cts and activities
41. Access Relevance
Community Context
Embedding Continuity
Learning
Personalisation
Design