The Use of the Mobile Application "Drops" in the Process of Learning Foreign Languages

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of modernization of the educational process and outlines one of the most effective ways of implementing modern methods and techniques of language learning that are crucial for a successful person today. It is determined that despite the fact that in Ukraine there is an educational program for primary, secondary and higher education institutions, it is considered rather outdated and, unfortunately, negatively affects not only the knowledge base, but also the attitude of people to the educational process. The article analyzes the works of domestic and foreign scientists who have studied the process of introduction of digital technologies and mobile applications in the educational process. The research is a confirmation of previous scientific research and is aimed directly at the question of learning foreign languages, especially English, using personal computer (PCs) programs, tablets, smartphones and other gadgets. The study focuses on exploring the benefits and weaknesses of the Drops mobile app and analyzing its impact on users' level of knowledge and prospects for future interactions with users and mobile apps to successfully learn foreign languages. The article demonstrates the functionalities of the Drops mobile application and identifies the ability to apply it among three different age groups of users with different levels of English, as well as make predictions about the further progress of users in learning the language if the Drops mobile application is used regularly. The experiment analyzes the conditions, which determined: download the Drops application; to study a specific block of vocabulary of the British English language "City & Shops" within one week, the recipients of the experiment were "users" of different age and level of language proficiency. The main problems faced by language learners are highlighted, which confirms the benefits and highlights more of the program's disadvantages that the creators of the Drops mobile application should work on. It was noted that the success in learning a foreign language by using the Drops mobile application was improved, and the effectiveness of using modern technologies in the process of acquiring new knowledge of English was demonstrated. The widespread introduction of mobile applications in English language education programs is recommended.

Organization of Foreign Languages Blended Learning in COVID-19 Conditions by Means of Mobile Applications

“…In our opinion, a very perceptive approach in teaching is where the teacher explains in an accessible form the positive and negative aspects of using mobile applications, in general, plus student can focus on specific functions of submitted applications (Nalyvaiko et al, 2020). The modern student has constant access to information and the task of a qualified teacher is to clearly guide the student to let self-knowledge through interaction with digital learning tools (Gafni et al, 2017).…”

“…It is important to emphasize that in the modern education process, information and digital technologies are especially important as a set of digital means of communication and interaction of participants in the educational process. The relevance of our research lies in the fact that at the moment mobile devices have become an integral part of life, and the use of applications in learning languages has already become a habit of almost every modern student interested in learning languages (Dobrilă, 2020;Douch & Savill-Smith, 2010;Gafni et al, 2017;Nalyvaiko et al, 2020). We will study the large flow of information that the student perceives every day, help to structure it and choose the most interesting applications for learning foreign languages.…”