Six Cent Jours sur Duolingo : An Autoethnographic Account of Language Learning Using Apps / Rachel C. Kay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kay, Rachel C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mobile-assisted language learning.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations

Place of Publication:

London, England : SAGE Publications Ltd, 2025.

Summary:

This case study covers a research project I designed to examine my progress in learning a foreign language on my own, relying only on apps from Google Play. The context was the global pandemic lockdown caused by the spread of COVID-19, in which many sought to level up by learning a new skill. This project culminated in one indexed article, one poster presentation, and a registered copyright. My journal article focused on the app Duolingo, and is titled "Six mois sur Duolingo pour apprendre le français, le chinois, et d'autres langues: An Experiential Diary Account of Linguistic Diversity," and was published in 2023 in the Scopus-indexed journal, Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 14(1). Subsequently, I also experimented with another app from France itself, Apprendre, and I combined my usage of both apps to enhance my language learning skills. The practice questions and activities were still largely determined by the apps' artificial intelligence. The first stage of my self-learning was using Duolingo, the second stage was using Apprendre, and finally, the third stage was where I included the use of ChatGPT as a practice tool, to come up with conversation scripts by myself.My journal essay was a diary account of learning French, as well as exploring eight other languages in six months through the app, Duolingo, and how exposure to this diversity of languages had enriched my possession of cultural capital, in the sense of having a greater scope of languages, especially knowledge of French, which I believe will help me in my focus on using Bourdieu's theories in my research, thereby contributing to the development of my institutional (language of literacy) and embodied cultural capital (the ability to garner new experiences and appreciation of cultural and creative works). I recounted, post-six months, my journey in learning French, my completion of two other language "courses," as well as my exploration of several others, all through Duolingo. I spun off a poster presentation about the use of these three apps to study a language, and copyrighted my technique of using these apps in a specific succession for this educational purpose. Readers will thus learn how to design a study of user experience using an app to study a language, from an autoethnographic standpoint, as well as the method of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data, using infographics and analytics provided by the apps, as well as building narratives to support it.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-03-621297-1

9781036212971

OCLC:

1523168802