Investigating the Life Cycle of Language Learning Applications: Going Beyond the Hype Cycle

Sep 29, 2026

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Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) extends language study beyond classrooms into learners’ daily private lives, enabling informal support through widely available language learning apps. This research investigates app life cycles and the motivations that lead learners to start, stop, and restart using apps. Survey data from 186 language learners with app experience were analyzed. Results identify three life-cycle phases—increasing, decreasing, and reviving—linked to turning points comparable to the Hype Cycle, with teacher and friend influence as a key driver and a need for improved guidance and app design.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

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Technology in Language Teaching & Learning
ISSN 2652-1687
[https://www.castledown.com/journals/tltl/](https://www.castledown.com/journals/tltl/) | | | --- | --- | --- | | Technology in Language Teaching & Learning, 6(2), 1–22 (2024) [https://doi.org/10.29140/tltl.v6n2.1187](https://doi.org/10.29140/tltl.v6n2.1187) | | | | Investigating the Life Cycle of Language Learning Applications: Going Beyond the Hype Cycle | | | | WENZHENG HUANG
Waseda University, Japan
[huangwenzheng@akane.waseda.jp](huangwenzheng@akane.waseda.jp) | | | | Abstract
As learning is more real and permanent when connected to learners’private lives beyond the classroom (Godwin-Jones, 2011), mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has emerged as a good way to support language learning, especially in informal contexts. With thousands of language learning applications (apps) becoming available, more and more language learners have started to use them as a support for their language learning. The purpose of this research is to investigate the life cycle of language learning apps and the reasons why learners decide to start, stop and restart using apps to better understand the use of the apps outside formal education contexts. The data collected from a survey of 186 participants with experience using language learning apps were analyzed. The results showed that the language learning app has three different phases in its life cycle, which are the “increasing period,”“decreasing period,” and “reviving period” with three turning points. This life cycle is similar to the Hype Cycle, a model describing how a new technology develops. Furthermore, the reasons behind the three turning points were also discussed. Influence from teachers and friends was the most significant factor contributing to starting using apps. The reasons for abandoning apps can be divided into apprelated ones such as dissatisfaction of apps, and learner-related ones, such as stop learning a language. Restarting to learn a language is the major reason for participants who chose to use apps again. The results also revealed that language learners had a positive attitude towards language learning apps, while the high abandonment rate of using apps also indicated that both apps and learning patterns could be improved if teachers can provide more sufficient and appropriate guidance to support the selection and use of apps, and app-designers can include more meaningful and interactive activities rather than just providing drills.
Keywords: Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), language learning applications, apps, Hype Cycles. | | | Copyright: © 2024 Wenzheng Huang. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within this paper. Investigating the Life Cycle of Language Learning Applications: Going Beyond the Hype Cycle 2 Introduction With rich, real-time, and collaborative experiences provided for language learners, MALL has become popular among students, teachers, and researchers (Duman et al., 2014) . Features of MALL such as portability, social interactivity and individuality make mobile devices ideal platforms to support language learning, especially beyond the formal context. Mobile devices used in MALL are varied, including smartphones, tablets, MP3/MP4 players, electronic dictionaries, and game consoles (Stockwell, 2022) . Of these devices, smartphones have become ubiquitous with improved mobile communication technologies and easier access (KukulskaHulme & Viberg, 2018; Wrigglesworth & Harvor, 2018). With the ability to effectively deliver materials of language learning to learners, MALL has become almost synonymous with the use of smartphones (Thornton & Houser, 2005). As Taj et al

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study on language learning apps?

To investigate the life cycle of language learning applications and explain why learners start, stop, and restart using them outside formal education contexts.

How was the data collected and analyzed?

The study analyzed survey data from 186 participants who had experience using language learning apps.

What life-cycle phases were identified for language learning apps?

The apps’ life cycle was described with three phases: the increasing period, the decreasing period, and the reviving period, each with turning points.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by nayy☆