Language learning ‘in the wild’: Evidence from app-based extramural Spanish learning
Join us to hear Bryan Smith, PhD, deliver “Language learning ‘in the wild’: Evidence from app-based extramural Spanish learning”.
In this talk I will first discuss the current research on app usage for L2 development. The talk will then turn to a recently completed study assessing Duolingo’s efficacy in bolstering Spanish language proficiency among university students over a three-month period. I will show how we addressed methodological challenges historically present in mobile-assisted language learning studies, employing a rigorous design that included a third-party standardized proficiency test and controlling for initial language proficiency and engagement metrics. Participants demonstrated significant improvements across both receptive (reading and listening) and productive (speaking and writing) skills, with lesson completion accuracy and user experience emerging as key predictors of language development. In addition to the main findings, I will discuss the study’s many methodological challenges and choices made, emphasizing the careful consideration of baseline proficiency, the usage of standardized versus researcher-developed tests, the integration of user experience metrics, the statistical analysis conducted, and the and artificial intelligence employed to gauge learning effectiveness. I hope the talk will stimulate discussion (and potentially collaboration) on the potential for language learning apps “in the wild” and in classroom-adjacent settings as well as the methodological rigor required for evaluating digital learning tools.
Bio
Bryan Smith is a Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of English at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. His research focuses on the nexus of technology-enhanced language learning and instructed second language acquisition. He is the co-editor of the CALICO Journal and has published widely in the areas of computer-mediated communication, research methods, and learner interaction.