The Effect of Using a Smartphone Application on Middle School Students’ English Expression Learning and Satisfaction

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of a mobile application (Speaking 200) on Korean middle school students` achievement and satisfaction. Two groups participated in this study: the experimental group who worked with the application and the control group who was provided with handouts. Each group was divided into two subgroups based on the subjects` score of a standardized listening test. Participants took a pretest at the beginning of the study and completed the posttest and survey after six weeks. Independent t-tests were used to analyze differences in experimental and control groups for both elementary and advanced level learners. Results revealed a significant difference between pre and post scores for elementary level learners. The results indicate that use of mobile application was more effective for the elementary level of learners than advanced learners. As for the survey results, participants responses were relatively positive in terms of functionality, ease of use and portability. Comments on improvements of the mobile application were collected from participants using an open-ended questionnaire. Educational implications of the study and further research were suggested based on the findings.