THE USE OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEXICAL SKILLS TRAINING IN A NON- LANGUAGE UNIVERSITY
Kadirova Feruza Xikmatullaevna
TUIT (Tashkent University of Information technologies named after Al-Khwarazmiy)
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, information technologies and communications have become an impartible part in a life of each civilized human. The consequences of development of information technologies are so deep that practically nobody can imagine own existence without familiar to everyone smartphones, ipads, laptops and their inherent programs and applications. Being like a web, information technologies have covered all areas of public life. The educational system also did not stand aside from that. The usage of Internet, mobile devices and multimedia has become the vitally important premise in enhancing the quality of educational process, especially in the field of learning foreign languages. In the given article the questions of using mobile applications, programs and systems will be thoroughly discussed. In addition, different facts, analyses and evidence will be attached.
Keywords: Digital devices, information technology, interactive tools, multimedia, didactic capabilities, wireless technologies, labor-intensive process, intensification, individualization, cognitive activity, learning motivation, application, streamline, multitran, monolingual, bilingual, website, replenish, mnemonic technique, memorization, psychological barrier, communications.
INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
In the modern world, computers and other digital devices are an integral part of every person’s life. In everyday life, we almost never part with smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. For the current generation of students in higher education, born in a digital society and raised with information technology, the use of technologies such as the Internet and mobile devices is an integral and completely natural part of their lives.
However, digital mobile devices have taken a strong place not only in our daily lives, they are widely used in the learning process. Modern trends in teaching are associated not only with a serious revision of concepts and teaching methods, but also with technical and technological updating of the learning process. This is expressed both in the widespread use of interactive learning tools already known to everyone (multimedia CD-ROMs, interactive whiteboard software, interactive and multimedia textbooks), and in the gradual introduction of mobile phone applications based on various platforms: Android, iOS Etc.
The use of tablet computers, smartphones, mobile phones, iPad, IPhone and other similar devices for educational purposes has led to the formation of a new direction within the framework of the concept of e-learning — mobile learning a foreign language (English M- Learning — Mobile learning). Many scientists and teachers are sure that the future of training with the support of information and computer technologies is connected with the spread of mobile communications, the emergence of a large number of educational applications and programs, new technologies that expand the possibilities and quality of education.
To date, in the foreign pedagogical literature there are several definitions of mobile learning, based on the technological features of mobile devices and on the didactic capabilities provided by these technologies. According to the MoLeNet project, mobile training is the use of convenient portable mobile devices and wireless technologies always available to facilitate, support, optimize and expand the learning and learning processes.
In general, most researchers come to the conclusion that the uniqueness of mobile learning compared to traditional teaching methods and modern methods such as e-learning and blended learning is that students are previously Total not tied to a specific time and place, having access to training material always, at any convenient time.
Mobile devices are successfully used (telephones, smartphones, tablet computers) in the study of various academic disciplines, and a foreign language is no exception. Today, mobile applications for learning foreign languages are gaining wide popularity. They have great potential in improving the effectiveness of the process of learning foreign languages and are designed to significantly improve the process of preparing foreign languages for a wide range of students, discover its new aspects and turn it from a serious labor-intensive process into an exciting lesson. Practice shows that mobile applications have a considerable advantage over traditional teaching methods: intensification of independent activity, individualization of training, increase in cognitive activity and learning motivation.
In our opinion, training on the use of applications for mobile electronic devices is currently particularly relevant. At present, students, with all their education in the field of digital technologies, it seems to us that they are not sufficiently oriented in the variety of software products offered. The teacher’s task is to help the student choose the necessary and suitable products that can maximize the learning of the language, and thereby individualize the learning process. It is necessary to streamline the use of these devices by students and teach them how to use mobile devices for learning, which will optimize this process.
Currently, users of mobile devices have access to a huge number of applications for learning foreign languages, especially English. Moreover, today there are mobile applications and programs focused on different aspects of teaching a foreign language.
For example, students, translating text on a specific topic, can turn to electronic dictionaries. Help applications for mobile electronic devices have several advantages over their printed counterparts. Firstly, they provide quick access to information. Secondly, the dictionary base in mobile dictionaries, as a rule, is more relevant than the printed versions. Thirdly, the use of mobile devices in the classroom and for independent work will help increase students’ motivation to learn a foreign language.
It should be noted that for the correct work with the electronic dictionary, instruction of the teacher and the development of students’ skills in working with the information available on the reference sites and in reference applications are required. Also of great importance is the recommendation of the teacher in choosing a particular resource.
First of all, it is important to teach students how to work with monolingual explanatory dictionaries such as “Merriam Webster Dictionary” and “Dictionary.com”, which, in addition to the description of the lexical meaning, contain examples of the use of lexical units and, thus, provide information about words, Phrases and idiomatic expressions within the context. In addition to transcription, these dictionaries also contain an audio recording of the pronunciation
of words. In the category of monolingual dictionaries, the dictionary “The Free Dictionary by Farlex, Inc” deserves attention, since this application allows you to simultaneously search in a number of dictionaries and encyclopedias, as well as specialized terminological dictionaries for various industries, for example, such explanatory dictionaries of legal terms as “Free Law Dictionary” and “ Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary ”.
From the currently presented bilingual dictionaries, we can distinguish the system for multitran translators. But even when using bilingual dictionaries, students are far from always able to extract the necessary information from a dictionary entry, for example, the most frequency value is often used for translation, without taking into account the rest. Using this application can be recommended for an advanced level of students, since this dictionary contains a large number of word meanings that are not always systematized enough and will be redundant at the initial stage of training.
As for mobile translation applications, such as Language Translator and Google Translate, they allow you to translate words, phrases, sentences using the interactive Google translation service. It is important to explain to students that translation applications allow you to get only a translation of a word or expression, which is not always adequate.
Next, we would like to dwell on applications that are designed to develop vocabulary skills and expand the vocabulary of students. Many of these electronic applications are designed for independent study of foreign languages and are built on a gaming basis.
The MyWordBook application, available on the British Council website, is designed as an interactive notebook for English learners. The vocabulary in the application is presented in the form of sets of interactive flash cards, organized both in random order and in the form of thematic groups, distributed across three difficulty levels. Each flash card is equipped with a definition and an example of use from the Cambridge University Press dictionary, translation, note fields, audio example, image. The “Practice” section contains five types of tasks, after which the user can move the word to the list of learned vocabulary. The application was developed as part of the training programs of the British Council based on Cambridge University Press sources, which is a reliable recommendation for its use.
The English language application with Words is designed to work on expanding the vocabulary with the help of exciting activities in a playful way. “Words” helps to activate the memorization of new words, train their spelling and listening comprehension. A feature of this application is that each of the eight proposed modes is aimed at developing specific skills in the use of lexical units. During the lesson, students are invited to perform several exercises of various types, for example, memorizing cards for memory training, choosing the right audio translation, participating in problem mini-games.
Easy ten is designed to replenish vocabulary at any level of English. The principle of operation is based on an individualized approach to user needs, in particular, this application allows you to personally select words for memorization, excluding vocabulary that is already familiar to the user. The words marked for training are available in a special player that reproduces pronunciation in English and Russian. In accordance with the established training schedule, the application offers the user every day from 10 to 20 new words, as well as four types of tests for each word, based on different types of perception of information. Interestingly, examples of the use of words are taken from Twitter. Developers also offer daily exercise cycles for repeating material learned in previous classes. To assess their success in learning a foreign
language, a user can compare their results with the results of other subscribers using the rating calculated by the application.
Free Polyglot app. English words contains a basic dictionary, lists of irregular verbs, as well as numerous thematic groups of vocabulary. Two operating modes are available in the application: the English-Russian dictionary, supplemented by transcription, voiced words and contexts of use, as well as training exercises, which consist in choosing one of the proposed word options to fill in the gap in the sentence. All contexts are voiced and translated into Russian. The program contains separate interactive and game components, for example, statistics on user success are kept, cards are periodically offered for repeating the material covered, a point reward system is installed, it is possible to create individual word lists.
Very popular among users is the Memrise app, a free, multi-functional app for storing various information. There are hundreds of courses on the official website, most of which are free. As a mnemonic technique, card memes are offered that are designed to facilitate the memorization of new words. The main type of work with this sentence is switching between numerous voiced vocabulary cards, which alternates with simple tasks for multiple choice.
Sections for the development of vocabulary skills are also included in many other applications, for example, Johnny Grammar’s Word Challenge, Learning English for BBC, Puzzle English and many others), and are also a necessary element of the so-called universal mobile applications for learning the language, which will be discussed below .
In our opinion, many vocabulary replenishment applications can be used, first of all, for students to work independently, to activate and develop lexical skills within the framework of the topics studied, for self-testing. At the same time, it should be noted that not all applications have high-quality language content, various types of tasks and notMake full use of the technical capabilities endowed with modern mobile devices.
During the study, we were also interested in professionally oriented applications for learning English for special purposes, in particular legal English. Unfortunately, we are forced to state that developers pay very little attention to the creation of such applications, and free applications are completely absent. Nevertheless, we familiarized ourselves with the International Legal English application, the subscription to which is fairly accessible. The application is intended for students who are preparing for the international legal English exam ILEC (International Legal English Certificate Exam), during which the skills of using English by lawyers in the professional field are tested. The application includes about 400 of the most common legal terms necessary for preparing for the exam and for solving everyday professional problems. All vocabulary is divided into groups by field of law, for example, “Legal Terms”, “Contract”, “Company Law”, “Employment Law”, “Competition Law”, “Real Property”, “Environmental Law”, “Intellectual Property”. Two operating modes are available in the application: “Search” — a monolingual dictionary in which the terms are presented in the form of flash cards with a sound version, definition, context of use. “Learn” — the terms are grouped into areas of law or presented in an arbitrary sequence, also accompanied by examples and definitions. The main method of working with vocabulary is memorization, training exercises; No tests. The application is valuable for its professional orientation and undeniable reliability of the source — Cambridge University, therefore, of course, can be used for independent work of students.
The review allows us to conclude that to date, a significant number of mobile applications and programs for studying a foreign language have been developed, aimed at the formation and development of the lexical skills of the English language. A sufficiently wide range and variety of existing mobile learning resources allow you to choose applications in accordance with the individual needs, interests and level of language training of the student. From our point of view, the practical application of mobile applications has great potential, as it increases the motivation and cognitive activity of students, interest in the subject, helps to individualize learning, and removes the psychological barrier when using a foreign language as a means of communication. In addition, the use of interactive technologies contributes to the development of foreign language competencies and the intensification of students’ independent work (mainly extracurricular).
REFERENCES
Dumachev L.L., Smolina L.V. THE USE OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEXICAL SKILLS TRAINING IN A NON-LANGUAGE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION // International
Student Scientific Herald. — 2017. — No. 1 .;
URL: http://www.eduherald.ru/ru/article/view?id\u003d16852 (accessed: 10.24.2019).