DocsDocs for nursing English for specific purposes: An intervention study on oral proficiency and contextual vocabulary

Despite the growing adoption of mobile learning systems for nursing education, their application in students’ oral communication skills and medical vocabulary acquisition remains underexplored. This study addresses the gap by evaluating DocsDocs, a purpose-built mobile app designed to enhance nursing students' oral fluency and acquisition of contextualized medical terminology in the context of English for Specific Purposes. Framed as mobile-assisted language learning and conducted at a nursing college in southern Taiwan, the study involved 100 students divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group engaged with DocsDocs, designed to integrate fluency and accuracy, and enhance contextual medical vocabulary acquisition. The results demonstrated significant improvements in the experimental group's oral fluency, surpassing accuracy gains and highlighting fluency as the more rapidly developed skill. The students in the experimental group acquired medical terms more effectively in contextualized settings than in isolation. To elucidate the mechanisms behind these improvements, the students' self-reported learning experiences and strategy use were analyzed, revealing how specific app features fostered engagement and self-directed practice. These findings underscore the app's potential as a transformative tool for fostering self-directed learning, improving oral fluency and contextual vocabulary use in professional settings, and bridging the gap between traditional and digital nursing English education. Future research should explore long-term impacts and expand the integration of mobile learning into broader educational contexts.