Powerpoint slides from my presentation at the CALICO conference 2013.

1. The iTunes U Language Learner
Fernando Rosell-Aguilar
CALICO 2013 Conference
@FRosellAguilar

2. Outline
• Podcasting for language learning: potential,
taxonomy, research
• The OU on iTunes U
• Survey of language learners
• Your survey: http://tinyurl.com/itunescalico13
• Results
• So what?

3. Potential for learning
• Convenient and easy to use
format (Clark & Walsh, 2005)
• Attractive (Stanley, 2006)
• Motivating (“Not feel like
studying”)
• Easy access
• Portability
• Value for money
• Publicity / Face value
© Matthew Martin (The Times 5/5/2006)

4. Potential for language learning
• Access to target language materials = sources of
information about the usage of the language (Ryan
1997) and potential to draw the learner into the
communicative world of the target language
community (Little 1997).
• Opportunities for active exploration, observation,
processing and interpretation (Cooper, 1993) and
focus on form (Long, Doughty).
• Specialised language courses. Materials specially
designed for language learning: grammar, vocabulary,
FAQs, songs, cultural knowledge.

5. Taxonomy of
language learning podcasts
• Self-developed
– Teacher-developed: for own established audience
– Student-developed
• Using existing resources
– Authentic materials
– Language courses
– Other people’s self-developed materials

6. Previous research
• Liked – novelty?
• Supplementary to main teaching
• Low level of transfer to mobile devices
• Perceived as academic activity
• Contradiction of potential benefits of
podcasting vs actual use
• Context: VLEs, internal students, revision
materials, knowledge transfer pedagogies

7. iTunes U
• Launched in 2007
(US & Canada)
• June 2008: Australia,
NZ, Ireland, UK
• Jan 2009: France,
Germany, Switzerland
• 2013: 1 billion
downloads
• Oxford University
60,000 downloads in its
first week

8. OU on iTunes U
• Over 62 million downloads
• Over 8,402,400 visitors downloaded files
• 434 collections containing 3,422 tracks (1,630
audio, 1,792 video). 97% of the tracks have
transcripts (in PDF format)
• 423 OpenLearn study units as eBooks (ePub),
representing over 5,000 hours of study
• 79 iTunes U Courses

9. Languages at the OU on iTunes U
• 7 languages: Chinese, English, French, German,
Italian, Spanish, Welsh
• Beginner to advanced
• Audio and video files with transcripts
• Variety of materials: some <1 m other >10 m.
• Some short audio in TL, others with teacher
voice, some mini documentaries filmed on
location.
• iBooks

10. Languages at the OU on iTunes U
• 11 collections (289 tracks) out of
434 (3422 tracks) are languages
materials (less than 10%)
• Over 17 million downloads
• Language materials account for over
a quarter of downloads OU on
iTunes U
Top 10 download chart for languages on iTunes U (UK) 12/6/12

11. BUT
• Teaching strangers
– Don’t know who’s listening
– Don’t know what they do
– Don’t know what they think

12. Survey
• Link on all OU on iTunes U pages
• 21 months between 2009 - 2011
• 2129 responses collected: 465 language
learners
• 455 analysed (ticked “use for learning”)
• Profile of languages on OU on iTunes U users
• Use of podcasts
• Interest in the podcasts
• Listening habits
• Rating of materials
• Comparison with non-language learners

13. Here comes the interactive bit!
• http://tinyurl.com/itunescalico13
• Male or female?
• Age?
• Where are they from?
• OU students?
• Why interested in OU languages iTunes U resources?
• How many downloaded – listened to?
• Transfer to mobile device? – listen on the go?
• How do they rate OU languages iTunes U materials?

14. My own hypotheses
• Gender: more males than traditional language learners
• Age: teenagers, older users
• Employment status: students (few OU)
• Mobility: despite previous research - YES
• Rating: good
• Paying: no
• Enrolling: no

15. User profile: gender and age
• LL 52.5% M / 46.6% F
• NLL: 56.4% M / 42.7% F

16. Profile: where they live
Language learners Non-language learners

17. Profile: OU students?

18. Why interested in OU resources?

19. Downloads / listening habits
How many downloaded? How many listened?

20. A mobile technology?
Transfer to mobile device Where do they listen?

21. Rating for OU on iTunes U
Languages materials
• Quality:
– Very good: 34.7%
– Good: 45.4%
– OK: 17.8%
– Not so good: 0.9%
– Terrible: 0%
– Variable: 1.2%
• Do they think they’re learning?
– 97.2% YES

22. The future of our teaching?
• Half the respondents would consider paying
for the content.
• 68.3% would be interested in taking some
form of assessment (for a fee) leading to a
qualification based on a fuller version of the
current content on iTunes U at the OU.

23. My own hypotheses
• Gender: more males than traditional language learners
• Age: teenagers, older users
• Employment status: students (few OU)
• Mobility: despite previous research - YES. External
• Rating: good
• Paying: no
• Enrolling: no

24. So what?
• First ever large scale study of iTunes U learners
• Personalising the stranger: information on the type
of user, what they do, and what they think
• Some as expected / some surprises
• Differences between LL / NLL
• Difference internal and external learners
• Mobile learning
• Casual learning (no focus on form?)

25. So what?
• Replicability: difficult
• Applicable to external learners from other institutions
• If you know your audience, you can make informed
decisions: design, delivery strategy
• Not research: enrolment, brand, exploring new
revenue generation
• Still unanswered: learning outcomes, measurable
results, engagement…
• BUT DO WE NEED TO KNOW THIS?

26. Gracias
Paper available from
Language Learning and Technology 17 (3) 2013
fernando.rosell-aguilar@open.ac.uk
@FRosellAguilar