Effects of mobile-assisted reading materials on children's L1 lexical development

Area of Science:

• Child Language Acquisition
• Educational Technology
• Applied Linguistics

Background:

• Mobile-assisted devices are widely used, yet their impact on children's first language (L1) acquisition is under-researched.
• Understanding L1 learning effectiveness with digital tools is crucial for educational development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of mobile-assisted reading materials on Chinese children's L1 vocabulary acquisition.
• To compare the effectiveness of mobile-assisted versus traditional paper-based learning materials.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal, quasi-experimental design was employed.
• An experimental group used mobile-assisted materials, while a control group used traditional paper materials.
• Lexical diversity was assessed at multiple time points to measure vocabulary development.

Main Results:

• Overall, mobile-assisted materials demonstrated similar L1 vocabulary learning effectiveness compared to paper materials.
• Mobile-assisted materials initially facilitated learning in the first month.
• Learning effectiveness was inhibited in the second month, with no significant difference by the fourth month.

Conclusions:

• The effectiveness of mobile-assisted L1 vocabulary learning varies over time, showing initial facilitation followed by potential inhibition.
• Long-term, mobile-assisted and traditional materials yield comparable results in children's L1 lexical development.
• Further research into design and learner factors is needed for mobile-assisted language learning.