I love languages, so naturally I am reviewing a language-learning application. I initially thought I would review Duolingo, but chose a more traditional language-learning application instead. The app is called “Learn Korean Phrasebook” and can be found here on Android’s app store. I personally tested the Android version; however, it is available on the iOS app store, android play store, windows phone store, and Amazon appstore. The reason I chose a language learning application is because the high-end language learning products are quite expensive and inaccessible to most individuals; whereas an application like this is free for beginners, and a great way for students to hear how words are pronounced and written while practicing.
The application is fairly simple; it takes a little under 12MB of storage in your Android device. It is made by Codegent, which publishes quite a few other language learning phrasebooks. I have tried a few other applications for language learning and find their applications the most appealing because of the simple, light, and clean design.
Upon launching the application, you see categories to choose from; the free categories are as follows: Greetings, General Conversation, Numbers, Directions & Places, Transportation, Eating Out, and Emergency. You can click into a category and choose a word to see how it is written and pronounced in the Korean language, or “Play all” to listen to have the app run through all the words. Once you listen to a word, you can select the heart icon to “favorite” it, in order to easily find it again. Alternatively, you can use the search icon to find a word of your choice, or the heart icon to find your favorite words.
As an app, it’s light and simple design are most appealing. Having had the app for quite some time, it also does not need overwhelming amounts of updates and has never fails or crashes. The UI is easy enough for a user of any age to start learning the language. When you click on a given phrase, you click on the English phrase, and below it you see it translated into the Korean alphabet, then it is romanized, and to the right is a speaker icon to listen to the word being pronounced. Therefore, the information is presented in different manners and meets that aspect of UDL (CAST). In some languages, it is useful to see a person’s mouth movements as they speak, so the learner can imitate that; although that may be a nice feature, I believe it would make the app too “heavy” and it would end up taking up a lot of space on the device. Taking up more space and memory will also impact on the usability and smooth performance.
In terms of accessibility, it is available for download all mobile markets, which makes it accessible. It is also a app that does not take up much space, so an older phone can still function using it. A hearing impaired person would be able to read the text and write the words to communicate the language. A visually impaired individual with a screen reader would be able to listen to the words being pronounced. I also think the simple design makes it easy to adapt to different interfaces and can be easily re-created or re-designed for a new OS update or marketplace.
IV. Discuss the educational value
The app is intended to teach people the basics of Korean language; it is meant to replace the physical book one may purchase to take abroad to communicate with others. This app is in line with “authentic activity” (Brown et al., 1989, p. 34). This is designed more for practitioners than students; students would go into details with all the possible phrases and ways of saying them, but this is made specifically for a traveler who is trying to learn the basics in order to get started or get around an unfamiliar place. Although it is difficult to conceive an individual as an apprentice of an application, Cognitive apprenticeship takes place to some degree (p. 39). If an individual uses the application without ever having learned the Korean alphabet, they can derive how the alphabet is put together by cross examining the Korean characters with its romanization. Therefore, learning the Korean alphabet and the structuring of the sounds can be learned implicitly through the app.
This , compared to other language learning applications, is very easy to use and learn from. It has a simple design that is accessible to people across all operating systems, which many other applications are not. It can be easily installed onto an iPad and used in conjunction with a language learning classroom. It certainly increases information literacy and impacts critical thinking (Pasnik, 2007). Individuals who are learning a language structuring system that is different from their own are forced to think differently and outside of their norm. Therefore, this easy to use app can certain enhance an individual’s ability to think, while giving them an authentic activity that is relevant to their needs.
My language learning applications are possibly the ones I frequently neglect and give the least credit towards; afterall, they do not require meaningless swiping of my fingers to crush candies. Although there is no game aspect to this application, it is quite robust for such a lightly designed app. It allows users to carry a phrasebook to a different country without having to carry anything other than their phone (and charger). In addition to listening to how things are pronounced, it spells out the words in Korean and displays the romanization of the characters. Thereby also enabling the learner to experience the sounds of the individual Korean characters and how they are put together. The only area where it may lack is not having a portion to rewrite the phrase in the Korean language. It is made more for listening and memorization. This is best for a traveler, but can also be used in a classroom for students who may want an app to refer to in order to quickly practice pronunciation.
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42.
CAST: About UDL. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/udl/
Pasnik, S. (2007). iPod in education: The potential for teaching and learning. White Paper, Winter. Retrieved from http://cct-dev.edc.org/userfiles/publications/report/iPod_in_Education_Whitepaper.pdf