Abstract—Since the 21st century, with the development of
high technologies, such as Internet, tablets, and smartphones,
there are more innovative ways to learn English. For example,
people are able to use technologies to send messages, present
ideas or share information anytime, anywhere. However, most
of the mobile apps for English learning purposes in Taiwan are
designed and presented in English interface. This is good for
high level students, but the low level students may feel difficult
and frustrated. Hence, the paper presents a pilot study and aims
to develop a mobile app to improve college students’ English
vocabulary learning with both English and Chinese descriptions.
The NGSL list is used as the content in the app, and the
researcher designs twenty-four vocabulary learning units for
students to use in one academic year. Students are expected to
learn thirty words every week. Moreover, the words are
presented both in English and Chinese because the target group
is low-level students (CEF A2 level). In addition, the
questionnaires were used to collect students’ opinions toward
the app. During this pilot study and with the use of mobile app,
it is hoped that students’ learning motivation can be increased
and the self-study habits can be built.
Index Terms—English vocabulary learning, mobile apps,
NGSL.
B.T. Wang is with the Foreign Language Center, Feng-Chia University,
Taiwan (e-mail: btwang.tw@gmail.com).
Cite: Bor-Tyng Wang, "Designing Mobile Apps for English Vocabulary Learning," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 279-283, 2017.