The effects of current mobile applications used in foreign language teaching on 4th grade students' success in English

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has focused on higher education both in practice and in research. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been observed that ODL is an indispensable area in the education of children as well as in adult education. In this process, it has been better understood that the existing knowledge and experience of ODL studies on children are insufficient. In this study, the effect of mobile applications that support foreign language learning, which is an ODL technology, on English lesson success was examined. In the study, which followed the explanatory sequential mixed method design, the Educational Mobile Application Usage for Foreign Language of Children (CYEMUK) scale as a quantitative data collection instrument was used. The psychometric properties of the scale were also investigated in this study. To conduct validity and reliability studies of the scale, data were collected from 309 students. It was found that the CYEMUK is a valid and reliable scale. It can be stated that the scale will contribute to researchers who will work on mobile applications and want to develop mobile applications for children. In order to determine the effects of mobile applications supporting foreign language learning on students' success in English classes, the scale was applied to 208 students studying in the centre, close to the centre, and in village schools. In addition to descriptive analyses, a one-way ANOVA was used to examine whether there was a difference by the region in which the schools were located. Whether there is a significant relationship between English lesson grades and the use of mobile applications that support foreign language learning was tested with the correlation test. It was concluded that there is a statistically significant and positive correlation with medium-level between the 4th-grade students' English end-of-year grade point averages and their answers to the CYEMUK scale. In the qualitative phase of the research, interviews were conducted with 4th-grade students, their parents, and teachers. As a result of the qualitative phase, the dimensions of the effects of mobile applications on the success of the English lesson were reported. Within the scope of the research limitations, it was concluded that mobile applications affect the success in the classroom positively. It can be stated that this study, in which children were identified as a participant group, will make important contributions to the applicability of ODL at all grades.