PhoneCALL: Incidental Language Learning on Mobile Devices. Edited version of presentation to EuroCALL 2011.

1. Phone CALLIncidental Language Learning with Mobile TechnologiesMike Sharples with Tony Fisher, Richard Pemberton, Tommy Sweeney University of Nottingham Hiroaki Ogata, Noriko Uosaki University of Tokushima Phil Edmonds, Anthony Hull, Patrick Tschorn Sharp Labs, Europe

2. Mobile language learning is boring

3. ...but important 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 Indianapolis Business Journal, “Report from China”, March 2011

4. How can we design language learning for a smartphone that is engaging and effective?

5. Initial vocabulary and grammar Direct instruction In a context Creating a context Context Fluency Social interaction Vocabulary acquisition Incidental learning

6. Initial vocabulary and grammar Direct instruction BBC Janala in Bangladesh English teaching on mobile phones Dial 3000 to access three minute audio lessons Content linked to youth TV show and news Over 3.5 million calls Context

7. Initial vocabulary and grammar Direct instruction Learn vocabulary in context Rehearse Use vocabulary to create new contexts Share the contextualised vocabulary Context Vocabulary acquisition Incidental learning

8. Research project by the Learning Sciences Research Institute in association with the University of Tokushima andSharp Laboratories of Europe

9. Incidental second language learning Self-directed learning of vocabulary in the context of reading from books Fits into gaps in everyday life Adaptive tutoring Motivating: e-book & e-game E-book Read story for vocabulary E-game Practise sentence construction Selected words Personal vocabulary Rehearse vocabulary list Game words Missing words

12. Elmo Mark 2 for smartphones Smartphones: Sharp WS004SH (3.7 inch colour TFT screen, 480x640 resolution) and Sharp WS007SH (2.8 inch colour TFT screen, 480x640 resolution).

13. Research question Are there differences in the learning of English vocabulary through reading novels, depending on the mode of mobile interaction?

14. Three modes of interaction Paper book e-book reader with English dictionary ‘ELMO’: e-book reader with enhanced software, including adaptive user modelling and additional interactivity Paper book E-book Elmo adaptive system

15. Participants Class of 39 students (24 female, 15 male) aged 15-17 at a Japanese high school Class divided on the basis of a pre-test into 3 comparison groups balanced in terms of English vocabulary and gender, enabling a crossover design to be employed for the study

16. Crossover design Survey and focus groups Post-test three Base-line test Post-test two Post-test one

17. Conduct of 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 Help-sheet and local advice in case of a problem with a device No school implications of results Post-test: the same words as in pre-test (scored out of 30)

18. Results for adaptive handheld learning device 9.5 9 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 Pre Post Vocabulary score

19. 9.5 9 8.5 8 Adaptive 7.5 7 Book 6.5 6 5.5 5 Pre Post Vocabulary score Comparison with paper book

20. 9.5 9 8.5 8 Adaptive 7.5 Ebook 7 Book 6.5 6 5.5 5 Pre Post Comparison with e-book Vocabulary score

21. Log data

22. 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)

23. 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

24. Conclusions The study was carefully set up and rigorously conducted It didn’t show effectiveness of any particular technology to enhance incidental learning of English vocabulary But... Sharp Labs Europe is developing a new version of Elmo with an attractive interface, pictorial e-book and vocabulary games

25. Elmo Mk3 for Android devices Product launch in Autumn 2011 (NB – these are screenshots from an early prototype version, not the market product)

26. Initial vocabulary and grammar Direct instruction Context Fluency Social interaction Vocabulary acquisition Incidental learning Research prototypes for contextual vocabulary acquisition and fluency

27. MiLexicon – Joshua UnderwoodPhD, Institute of Education, London https://sites.google.com/site/joshunderwood/milexicon

28. miLexicon: connecting vocabulary Share Look up on favourite sites Scroll for self-assessment prompts & item history

29. Toponimo– TommySweeney PhD, University of Nottingham

30. Initial vocabulary and grammar Direct instruction Creating a context In a context Context Fluency Social interaction Vocabulary acquisition Incidental learning