To Gamify or Not to Gamify: Towards Developing Design Guidelines for Mobile Language Learning Applications to Support User Experience

Abstract

This paper explores the design and development of two mobile applications that can be used to study a foreign language. Each application is designed with a different approach to learning. One immerses the learner into a traditional environment with the ability to review grammar, track personal statistics, and complete tasks. The other employs gamification as the primary method to engage learners. After the prototypes for both applications were created, we carried out extensive, in-depth interviews to assess the applications’ user experience and learning experience. The findings suggest that gamification can support long-term student retention, but “gamified” applications should provide some degree of language instruction to help guide users towards proficiency.