Mobile apps (Englishlistening and 6 minutes English) and the listening skill

Abstract

Mobile technology has notably taken on an important role in the educational field. There are wide range of resources that are available to improve different skills in certain areas that we do not know yet. The main aim of this study is to determine the influence of the EnglishListening and 6 Minutes English mobile applications in the development of listening comprehension. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile apps through the improvement of students’ listening skill after two months of using the mobile apps and to determine student’s acceptance of mobile technology as a methodology for learning English and developing the listening skill. The study is developed at the Unidad Educativa Prócer Manuel Quiroga in Santo Domingo City, in Ecuador, with 63 students from the 3rd year of baccalaureate. Thirty-three students were part of the experimental group and thirty students were part of the controlled group. To collect the information, the researcher uses standardized Pre-test and Post-Test. All the obtained data is analyzed through the Wilcoxon test, in which we obtained results that showed that EnglishListening and 6 Minutes English mobile applications had 95% positive effects in the development of the listening comprehension. Finally, it concludes that EnglishListening and 6 Minutes English are two mobile applications that can be trusted by teachers and used to develop listening comprehension in students. These applications provide a great variety of interactive, innovative and educational activities to manage listening. Their systems are reliable and contain truthful information to be imparted in a class. Based on the results this research suggests that teachers should apply the EnglishListening and 6 Minutes English mobile applications in order to develop listening comprehension in English as foreign language. These apps deliver multiple and great benefits to students because of their innovation, contents, methodology, interest and interaction.