This document summarizes a master's thesis project that developed a mobile language learning platform for French. The project was motivated by the need for an application to help avoid interference errors for students at levels B1 and B2. Key aspects included categorized exercises and quizzes with multimedia, as well as self-organized learning functionality. The platform was implemented using a database, content management system, and APIs to power both web and mobile applications. An evaluation found the platform worked well when supported by instructors, though better exercise design and faster setup were needed areas of improvement.

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W I S S E N ◼ T E C H N I K ◼ L E I D E N S C H A F T
u www.tugraz.at
Development of a mobile
French language learning
platform
Michael Planitzer
Master’s Thesis

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Overview
• Motivation
• Requirements
• Implementation
• Evaluation
• Outlook
Michael Planitzer2

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Motivation
• Uni Graz, Centre for Language, Plurilingualism
and Didactics (Carole Bourgadel)
• “to encourage students to actively use sentence structures and to
make them aware of the specific problem of interference in French
in an unconventional manner”
• No adequate self-organizable language learning application for B1
and B2
• Self-organizable, mobile application with focus on lexical,
grammatical and syntactical categories.
• Scope
• Conception, CMS web application, iOS mobile application
• Android as part of a Bachelor thesis
Michael Planitzer3

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Motivation
→ Develop a prototype to support students during their
Language Learning classes (B1 and B2), with the aim to
avoid interference errors by providing specific differentiation
exercises.
Michael Planitzer4

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Requirements
• Categorized exercises
• Categorized quizzes
• Multimedia
• Glossary
• Feedback
• Self-organizable
Michael Planitzer5
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2

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Requirements
• Data management
• store, modify, provide and delete data
→ database
• render and access web pages for a user-friendly data management
→ CMS
• Provide data by an interface to be accessible from mobile
applications
→ API, mobile applications
• Embedding CMS and database to existing system
→ TU Graz Learning Lab environment
https://learninglab.tugraz.at/ (Accessed 11/22/2020)
• Provide tracking possibilities
• Multi classes
Michael Planitzer6

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Implementation
Michael Planitzer7
→ Distributed software
architecture

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Implementation
– Database
Michael Planitzer8
• MySQL 8.0 database
• 5 Major Parts
• Project
• Glossary
• Question
• Exercise
• Type

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Implementation – Web application
• Zend framework 3
• PHP 5.6
• MVC design pattern
• Other components
• Apigility Controller to run REST API
• Authentication/UserManager
• File Management
(Link to slides with screenshots)
Michael Planitzer9

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Implementation – iOS application
• General
• Swift 4.2
• iOS 11.0 or later
• iPhone and iPad
• Sends analytics data to Firebase
• Main User stories
• Registration and Login (Link to slides with screenshots)
• Doing exercises (Link to slide with video)
• Doing quizzes (Link to slides with screenshots)
• Watching learning videos (Link to slides with screenshots)
• Glossary – dictionary look-ups (Link to slides with screenshots)
• Administrating app settings (Link to slides with screenshots)
Michael Planitzer10

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Implementation – Firebase analytics
• Crash reports & Event analytics
• Embedded in iOS application
• Individual measurements
• parameters send to firebase
course, type, pool, exercise,...
• on suitable places
quiz/exercise started/exited, get info during challenge, view glossary entry,...
• Learning Analytics
• How long do students need for which exercises?
• For which exercises do they need further information?
• When and on which exercise do they start and stop studying?
• Which glossary entries are how often and how long looked up?
• etc.
• Standard visualizations
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MVC Flow

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REST API Flow

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Tracking Flow
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Evaluation
Used since Summer Semester 2020
• ~90 students (60% Android, 40% iOS)
• No crashes registered by Firebase
Students
• In general intuitive, design could be more friendly
• Highly accepted → included into final exam
• Most liked feature: multimedia content
• Mouth gestures
• Listening Comprehension
• Can be used everywhere and everytime
• Really big improvements only with app not achievable
• Exercises too reproductive
Michael Planitzer15

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Evaluation
Teachers
• Very high administrative effort
• ~350 exercises with images and audio records
• 25 videos
• 20 pdf description
• → ~180h
• Colleagues fear about technology
• No interest about deep analytics evaluations
Keynote at Arqus “Virtual language learning in Europe” (06/24/2020)
https://european-university.uni-graz.at/de/neuigkeiten/detail/article/grenzenlos/ (Accessed 11/22/2020)
Michael Planitzer16

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Evaluation / Outlook
• Platform works, if responsible person (teacher)...
• ...is behind it.
• ...is not afraid about technology.
• ...has time to feed the platform with data.
• Students are using it…
• …if content is part of class and exam.
• …because of the mutimedia elements.
• …because of the uncomplicated, everywhere/everytime availability.
• Platform has to get…
• …better thought out, diversified exercises.
• …faster setup possibility.
→ Platform can only be a supporting element to other
teaching methods.
Michael Planitzer17

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Outlook
• Educational Paper “Interlingual Interference
Phenomena in French Courses” by Carole
Bourgadel, (in progress)
https://treffpunktsprachen.uni-graz.at/en/research/didactics/projekte0/aktuelleprojekte/interlingual-
interference-phenomena-in-french-courses/ (Accessed 11/22/2020)
• Two „must” improvements
• Faster project setup
• Better thought out, diversified exercises.
• Would make sense
• Administration and organization build on already
established systems (TU Graz TeachCenter)
• Utilize analytics data
Michael Planitzer18

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Thank you for your attention
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/at/app/appell/id1449511915?l=en (Accessed 11/22/2020)
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.tugraz.appell (Accessed 11/22/2020)
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Web application - Screens (1|3)
https://schule.learninglab.tugraz.at/Appell/
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Web application - Screens (2|3)
https://schule.learninglab.tugraz.at/Appell/
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Web application - Screens (3|3)
https://schule.learninglab.tugraz.at/Appell/

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Firebase
evaluations

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iOS App – Screens
Register/Login

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iOS App – Screens
Exercises

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iOS App – Screens
Quiz

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iOS App – Screens
Videos

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iOS App – Screens
Glossary

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iOS App – Screens
More

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iOS App – Screens
More

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Evaluation – Pre-Release
• Lot of meetings (agile process)
• Functionality
• Usability
• Usability tests with persons involved during implementation and
colleagues/students of Carole
• Performance
• Compatibility
• PHP 5+7, ZF3/Laminar, iOS 11.0, Firebase, UserManager
• Maintainability
• Portability
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Implementation – Technology Stack
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• MySQL 8.0 database
• Doctrine 1.1 ORM
• Zend framework 3
• PHP 5.6
• File storage
• Native mobile apps
• Android: Java (Bachelor Thesis)
• iOS: Swift 4.2
• REST API
• Apigility 1.4
• Firebase 5.17