Presentation of my research into user evaluation of the busuu language learning app, based on a study with 4095 busuu users.

1. User evaluation of the busuu
language learning app
Fernando Rosell-Aguilar
@FRosellAguilar
School of Languages and applied linguistics
The Open University

2. Overview
• Apps for language learning
• Survey
• Results
• Final thoughts

3. Apps for language learning
• New market since 2007 (iPhone) + iPad 2010
• “Game changer” (Goodwin-Jones, 2001)
– Functionalities
– Competitors followed (Android, Windows...)
• 100 billion apps downloaded by 2015
• Potential for ubiquitous learning opportunities, ease of
use, collaborative potential, content access, productivity
(Murphy, 2011)
• Fits with constructivism; use of authentic materials;
informal and lifelong learning; learning objects; CALL;
MALL theories and practices of just in time teaching.

4. Apps for language learning
• “Super powers” (Sweeney & Moore, 2012)
– Screen size
– touch screen
– enhanced text entry
– high-quality image, audio and video playback, recording, editing and
sharing
– voice recognition
– storage
– Fast connectivity
– Geolocation
– Bluetooth connection
(Goodwin-Jones, 2011)

5. Apps for language learning
• Research:
Wide ownership, enjoyable (Khaddage & Latemann,
2013)
Some indications of language learning improvement:
– Reading (McLanahan et al, 2012; Harmon, 2012)
– Listening (Lys, 2013, Kim, 2013)
– Vocabulary (Yildiz, 2012)
– Verb conjugation (Castañeda & Cho, 2013)
– Character writing (Shinagawa, 2014, Rosell-Aguilar & Kan, 2015)

6. Research questions
• Who uses the busuu app? What for? How do they
use it?
• What do users think of the busuu app? What
features do they like best / least?
• Do users think that using the app has improved
their knowledge and use of the language(s) they
are learning? Which skills do they think they have
improved most?

7. Survey
• 30 questions
• 2 languages
• Open for 3 weeks in May 2016
• Distributed through in-app message
• 4095 respondents (2265 English / 1830 Spanish)
• First large-scale survey of independent app
users

8. Respondents

9. Respondents

10. Respondents

11. Use

12. Use

13. Use

14. Use

15. Use

16. Use

17. Expectations

18. Expectations

19. Opinion

20. Opinion

21. Opinion

22. Opinion

23. Opinion

24. Opinion

25. Opinion

26. Premium

27. Premium

28. Premium

29. Assessment

30. They want more!

31. Final thoughts
• Very positive views of using the app as conducive to LL
• Some formal use with planned sessions
• Positive evaluation of automated feedback
• Speaking practice is most wished-for but...
• devices offer interaction
• other apps offer different options
• Is a dashboard the future?

32. Questions? Comments?

33. @FRosell-Aguilar
Fernando.Rosell-Aguilar@open.ac.uk
Thank you!
¡Gracias!