Voulez-vous mlearn French for marketing? Le Marché App

Abstract

Abstract: Educators, especially in technologically advanced countries, have begun to take advantage of mobile devices to promote learning and study. Mobiles are recognized as valuable educational tools by many Universities and offered to attract students, according to the Horizon Report (2011). Mobile technology has great potential to develop learning relevant to foreign language (FL) learners of all ages, particularly to informal adult learners. Mobile learning (mlearning) allows lifelong learners immediate access to needed knowledge far from University settings. This instructional design project explores an iPad app as an informal learning tool to allow adult French learners visiting or living abroad access to necessary language in authentic, immediate, and real life situations. Mlearning represents an appropriate vehicle for learning language related to a particular daily activity and cultural event in any country. I created Le Marché, a website-based iPad app designed to teach the simple vocabulary and pronunciation necessary to complete a produce purchase in an open-air market in France. Attitudinal Survey results revealed that 79% of the respondents owned or intended to buy an iPad, while about 80% would be willing to use an app for FL study. All of the respondents showed acquisition of French vocabulary and structure through the module. Feedback indicated a desire to learn more French as well as interest in similar apps for learning other languages.