An evaluation of commercial MALL apps for learning Spanish as a Foreign Language: a study on the alignment of Babbel, Busuu and Duolingo with the Action-Oriented Approach

The current Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) landscape is characterised by the preeminent use of commercial apps by learners, with apps such as Babbel, Busuu or Duolingo having hundreds of millions of users worldwide. These apps are presented to users as actionoriented learning resources, aligned with the levels and ‘can-do’ descriptors outlined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). According to the advertisements, Busuu, Babbel and Duolingo provide users with the content they need to learn to use the language effectively for real-life tasks. However, no study has so far examined the extent to which the principles of action-oriented language teaching inform their instructional design. Hence, the present research is an attempt to investigate this gap by evaluating the coherence of these three apps with an Action-Oriented Approach (AoA), the approach underpinning of the CEFR. A qualitative approach was adopted to evaluate the alignment of the instructional design of these apps with the principles of action-oriented language learning. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three different groups of participants: app developers, teachers of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) and non-teaching SFL professionals. Before being interviewed, two groups of participants in undertook an in-depth evaluation of Babbel, Busuu and Duolingo. The results indicate that there seems to be a mismatch between the type of instructional design presented in the advertising of the apps, and the reality of that design. The findings raise doubts that crucial aspects of action-oriented learning, such as interaction or learning through real-life tasks, have been adequately developed. Tensions are also observed between the potential for language learning of mlearning affordances and the way in which these affordances have been exploited. The findings have a number of implications for educational institutions and instructors who wish to use these apps for action-oriented learning.