Development and Use of an EFL Reading Practice Application for an Android Tablet Computer

This paper reports on the use of an English-language reading practice application for an Android tablet computer with students who are not native speakers of English. The application materials for vocabulary learning in reading-passage contexts were created to include words from a database of low-fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of mobile and blended learning Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 35 - 51
Main Authors Ishikawa, Yasushige, Smith, Craig, Kondo, Mutsumi, Akano, Ichiro, Maher, Kate, Wada, Norihisa
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IGI Global 01.07.2014
Subjects
College Students
Computer Oriented Programs
Educational Benefits
English (Second Language)
English Curriculum
English for Special Purposes
Foreign Countries
Handheld Devices
Instructional Design
Japan
Language Tests
Learner Engagement
Needs Assessment
Nouns
Questionnaires
Reading Comprehension
Reading Habits
Reading Improvement
Reading Instruction
Reading Materials
Reading Rate
Reading Skills
Second Language Learning
Skill Development
Student Evaluation
Student Needs
Study Habits
Test of English for International Communication
Verbs
Vocabulary Development
Word Frequency
Japan
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Summary:This paper reports on the use of an English-language reading practice application for an Android tablet computer with students who are not native speakers of English. The application materials for vocabulary learning in reading-passage contexts were created to include words from a database of low-frequency and technical noun-verb collocations which occurred frequently in certain documents related to the study of international affairs. The learning materials were used in an English for specific purposes course intended to support the reading skill development of students studying international affairs at a university in Japan. Research showed that use of the learning materials had three positive influences on students' study behavior: the students' reading speed increased without a loss in comprehension; the students enjoyed the reading practice with the tablet computer; and they appreciated that the use of the tablet computer had merits that differed from reading practice in hard copy formats.
ISSN:1941-8647
DOI:10.4018/ijmbl.2014070103