2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article

1.     What is the technology?
Anki is an open-source flashcard app that uses spaced repetition algorithms and active recall to help learners remember information fast and encode it to learners’ long-term memory. users can create original flashcards or download preexisting flashcard decks while using this app. 

2.     How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 
With the app, learners can only study vocabulary that is likely to be forgotten. In fact, this is the key element that the app can best improve users' learning. The app actually exposes some cards more depending on the learner, reducing the frequency of other cards. In other words, some cards guarantee more attention to one learner than others. In addition, efficient learning is possible for learners. It is clear that learning using spaced repetition is efficient and effective for vocabulary study. 

3.     What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?
Learning vocabulary. It is a spaced repetition system for study vocabulary, which means learners can pick up new vocabulary in the fastest ways. The users are quizzed more often on the information they struggle with and tested less often on the material that is easier or more familiar to the users, so it can help save time. 

Learners use spaced repetition to its fullest. What makes Anki different from using straight flash cards is that while using Anki cards, learners can tell the app how easy or hard the question was to answer. Based on that feedback, Anki will show the question more or less frequently. Being able to spend time on the questions that are more difficult for learners instead of the ones learners already know is an effective use of study time. 

4.     Provide a link to the tool
To download Anki on your computer, go to https://apps.ankiweb.net. 

This app provides abundant English learning materials which includes diverse themes, such as travelling, business, ordering food, and shopping. Users can also choose these materials based on their proficiency levels, and there are four levels, including zero-basis, beginning, intermediate, and advanced level. After choosing a material, users can see the text and hear the sound recording, then users can read aloud and record their own sound.

2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 

This app will provide scores through AI analysis and mark the text in different colour. Users can also know their advantages and disadvantages of pronunciation according to the text colour. Green means excellent, black means not bad, and red means need to improve. Users can listen the original recording again and again, and compare it with their own recording. They can pay more attention to red words to find their incorrect or inappropriate pronunciation, then record their sound again. This app also provides dubbing courses with a wide variety of video clips from movies, TV series, and advertisements. Users can listen the original sound at first, then dub the video sentence by sentence.

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

This app assists learners to improve their speaking skill, the goal of AI system is to improve their segmental features of pronunciation. Vowels and consonants are considered as small segments of the speech, which are the foundation and important part of learners’ pronunciation learning. By using this app, users are provided an automatic and intelligent pathway to find their incorrect vowels or consonants and correct them according to the suggestion. So, their AI system in pronunciation with its aspects fast, efficient, accurate, convenient, etc. has been widely recognized by their users. Moreover, another interesting part, dubbing courses not only bring more fun to their users, but also help users improve their pronunciation of suprasegmental features. Users record their own audio work through several times practices, which can be a learning process that let them focus on the intonation, rhythm and stress etc. in this short video clip.

This is a vocabulary learning app in which users can look up and review words. Regarding word lookup, first, users can check the meanings of a word by using the Collins English Dictionary embedded in the app. The dictionary can meet the needs of users in different English proficiency levers because it is bilingual with both English explanations and Chinese translations. The second feature is that it provides original sentences excerpted from authentic audio materials such as news, TV shows, and movies. Users can listen to the audio sentences containing the words they are looking up. The third feature is that users can check the word parts of a word and learn more related words with the same affixes and roots. In terms of reviewing words, when a word is added to the learning list, the app will remind users to review the word at an appropriate time based on the Forgetting curve.

Contextualization and repetition are two significant factors for vocabulary learning. Most of the time, students learn new words decontextually and through reading the definition and example sentences. This app allows students to learn new words through listening and help students understand the meanings of a word in different contexts. Additionally, reminding students to review and repeat words regularly has positive effects on vocabulary retention.

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

The app aims to help users’ vocabulary development.

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article
https://bbdc.cn/

BaiCiZhan is a kind of software which designed for English vocabulary Learning. The design of this software mainly based on Ebbinghaus’s memory law and associative memory (Yuan, 2019). The application provides each English word with its pronunciation, its meaning both in English and in Chinese, the target example sentences, a picture indicating the meaning of the word, a video relevant to the word, and a hieroglyphic. In other words, the application illustrates the word from the form of its sound, shape, meaning and usage (Yuan, 2019). Before the study, learners need to choose the word group according to their language level and academic needs, so that learners could get the corresponding word list in the application. Once the learners begin the study, the application will show the target words one by one and ask learners to match words with corresponding pictures. If the learner makes a right judgement, the system will jump to the next word; However, if the learner makes a wrong judgement, the application will show the explanation of the target word in details. After the learner catches the usage of the new word, the word will be recorded, and the matching game will continue. What is more, the recorded words will appear again and again in the matching game until the learner is familiar with the word. The application also has a review system; learners could go over what they have learned at any time in different modes. Besides, to develop a good learning habit, learners could share their progress in social media.

2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 

Firstly，the application uses various illustrations and images to help learners have a better understanding of the word meaning, and establish links between words and the real world (Zou, Wang, Xie, & Kohnke, 2018). Secondly, the application creates a competitive environment for learners, which allow learners to add friends and share learning progress (Zou, Wang, Xie, & Kohnke, 2018). Thirdly, the BaiCiZhan application includes a great deal of target group of words, which could base on learners’ needs (Zou, Wang, Xie, & Kohnke, 2018). For example, if the student wants to prepare some words to take part in the IELTS test, he can choose the corresponding word list and learn from the application easily. And Fourth, Android users could set word cards as lock screens of their mobile phones (Zou, Wang, Xie, & Kohnke, 2018). In this case, learners could review the difficult words repeatedly and make full use of their trivial time every day.

 

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

The aim of the BaiCiZhan app is to help students improve their vocabulary skills. Vocabulary skill is inseparable from listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills (Webb & Nation, 2017); therefore, vocabulary skill is the foundation of English. BaiCiZhan app is an English vocabulary learning app, the main purpose is making students improve the number of English vocabulary, and accurate use of vocabulary in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Mobile technology integration can provide individualized learning accessible to learners (Deng & Trainin, 2015). As a mobile app, BaiCiZhan app is a product of the development of mobile technology. So, after the learners customize their own learning plan, they can use all the fragmented time to improve their vocabulary skills. For example, a student who receives a conditional offer from the University of Western Ontario needs to obtain an IELTS score of 6.5 in half a year. He or she plans to take the first IELTS test in three months. At this time, he or she can choose the studying option "I want to learn IELTS test words" , and select the learning time option "three months" in the BaiCiZhan app. BaiCiZhan app can formulate a student’s vocabulary improvement plan based on the collected data information of the student. For example, completing the plan needs to learn 50 new words, and review 300 learned words every day. Learners can use some scattered time to learn words in the BaiCiZhan app, such as, students can use their mobile phones and BaiCiZhan app to learn three or four words when they waiting for the bus, they can also review fifty words during lunch, and so on. To sum up, BaiCiZhan app invisibly increases the time for students to learn vocabulary, thereby helping students improve their English vocabulary skills. In addition, students may constantly forget some words they have learned (Chen, Chen &Yang, 2019), BaiCiZhan app has an advantage that repeatedly helps students review words and helps students strengthen their vocabulary memory, including spelling and pronunciation. It means, learners can deepen their memory of words from constant review and study in the BaiCiZhan app, and improving the accuracy of word usage. In summary, constantly reviewing the pronunciation, spelling, meaning, and other aspects of words can help learners use these words correctly in listening, speaking, reading, writing. In conclusion, helping learners improve their vocabulary skills is an important purpose of the BaiCiZhan app.

 

References

Chen, C. M., Chen, L. C., & Yang, S. M. (2019). An English vocabulary learning app with self-regulated learning mechanism to improve learning performance and motivation. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 32(3), 237-260.

Deng, Q., & Trainin, G. (2015). Learning vocabulary with apps: From theory to practice.

Webb, S., & Nation, I.S.P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Yuan, Y. (2019). Empirical study on the mobile app-aided college English vocabulary teaching. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 11(1), 68-74.

Zou, D., Wang, F., Xie, H., & Kohnke, L. (2018). Game-based vocabulary learning in China and Hong Kong: students’ evaluation of different word learning APPs. In 3rd International Conference on Technology in Education. Springer, Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

 It is an app for learning vocabulary. It is embedded with different vocabulary lists, such IELTS high-frequency list, TOEFL most frequency words lists. The users can choose the suitable list to learn. It usually has a Chinese translation associated with it. Users can also choose how many words they would like to memorize and take a test when needed to examine the learning outcomes.
2.How does it enhance learning?

In this app, it has a test function and for those words users do no know and they will be recycled and learned again. Such repetition and reinforcement can allow students to enhance their memory process. 

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

L2 vocabulary 

4.Link
https://www.shanbay.com/

The name of the application is Voscreen. Voscreen is aiming for practicing students’ listening skills. There will be a short English video without subtitle, and students need to watch the video first and answer one question related to the scripts in 30 seconds. The questions always are asking students to choose the right meaning of the scripts. Learners could choose to watch the video as much as they want, and they can also add subtitle in the video if they cannot answer the question.

2.How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 

For teachers and learners, it is hard to find suitable material to practice listening. When using Voscreen, there are enough short videos can be used as listening materials. Both teachers and learners can search material according to level. Also, listening practice is not that interesting, so teachers need to think about how to attract students. The videos on Voscreen come from some movies and TV plays, which are interesting and attractive. Furthermore, the content of videos are related to learners’ real life.

2. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

Voscreen aims to help students practice English. Learners could choose to watch the video as much as they want, and they can also add subtitle in the video if they cannot answer the question. This could help them improving their listening skills. 

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article

https://www.voscreen.com/life/2369/vou94sy9udc3yv1/tr

This website focuses on assisting clients in their development as writers and offers multiple content and examples to help students or teachers find useful information on specific topics.

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

Learners can use the site's Q&A feature to practice reading and writing skills and to ask questions about any part of a language that is difficult to master. In specific, users can change the site's language and increase their incidental learning through reading and commenting. This is a very natural and fun way of learning. Learners acquire content knowledge and gain experience in using the language when reading the answers that interest them. This informal approach to language learning provides an authentic context in which learners can actually use the target language.

In addition to improving reading and writing skills, learners can also find out how others are learning and using resources by searching Quora for language learning related questions.

Start using Quora to learn languages now! Here is the link: https://www.quora.com/

2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 
It is a very useful tool for writing, especially in this context- we are all doing online teaching-  so that users could share their writing and their peers can see and edit the documents. 

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving? 
Writing. It is like google doc, and users can edit writings for their peers and teachers can also give immediate feedback through the software. 

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article
https://shimo.im

PeiYinXiu is an application that students can use to dub some English TV shows or movies.  There are many resources in this application, students can just type the name of the resources that they want to dub in the search bar and download the background video. 

2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both?

 For most EFL learners, they have fewer opportunities to use English in their daily life and this application encourages students to use English more often because students can choose resources base on their own interests, for example, if a student is a huge fan of Marvel heroes, we can let him or her do the Iron-man’s voice so that this student will be more excited and more willing to use English. Also this application is not just a technology that students can use on their own, teachers can let students do some presentations of their dubbing work in class and give proper guidance if needed.

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?

This application is a great technology for students to practice their English pronunciation and accent, also it will improve the language fluency if students use it on a regular basis.

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article

It is available in most app stores and it is also available at http://www.peiyinxiu.com/#page6 and students can download it for free.

Duolingo is a quiz-style language learning website and app. It features a “tree” system with different categories of vocabulary and grammatical structure to practice, and they get harder as the user progresses. Progressing through the tree and playing every day gives the player rewards. It is available in many languages, including English for Chinese speakers.

 

Duolingo’s gameplay is based on: listening to records and transcribing them, reading phrases and voice recording them, putting words in the right order, fill in the blanks, and translating from L1 to L2. There are leaderboards each week, as a competition of how often someone has played. This is not a replacement for studying, but a great supplement. It feels more like a game than homework and it works similarly to drilling, making it fun and still educational for students. 

 

It can assist with all (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). It is probably the most effective for passive (listening and reading), as the production tasks can be limited and repetitive. 

 

https://www.duolingo.com/

1. ADJ A sophisticated machine, device, or method is more advanced or complex than others. 

2. ADJ Someone who is sophisticated is comfortable in social situations and knows about culture, fashion, and other matters that are considered socially important. 

3. ADJ A sophisticated person is intelligent and knows a lot, so that they are able to understand complicated situations. 

HW give one picture of a woman with a delicate face. The picture explains meaning of a sophisticated person. So learners may have sense of the second meaning in this specific context.   And there are also many other pictures to show other meanings of the sophisticated. 

The picture gives the learner an intuitive image, which enables the learner to store the picture and the word and their contacts in the right brain through the visual information. This kind of memory is usually belong to immediate memory. Because visual information can be stored directly in the right brain, without operating and processing. 

The characteristics of English words are abstract and the memory process is dull and boring, which will hinder the students' enthusiasm on learning English words. Using the intuitive picture memory method makes the memory process vivid and interesting. Pictures can enhance students' perception of words by stimulating vision. 

HW also development learners; contextual memory. Contextual memory is more conducive to long - term memory. Because context memory can not provide intuitive pictures and sensory stimulation. It requires learners to process the special context. The brain concretely abstracts information, and transforms it into real scenes or imagination through association. In the specific context, vocabulary can be learned and combined with their life experience and knowledge background to form their understanding of vocabulary. This theory has been completed demonstrated in He Lihua’s (2014) study: “Context is the key to the teaching of vocabulary. The meaning of a word is determined by the context in which it is located. Without the support and help of context, the meaning of words can not be determined with specific meaning.”

That explain why most students found that Context is the most useful way to memorize words and they could recall the specific word after long time. 

HW app includes many vocabulary knowledges and example sentences. Pictures also provide a context for learning target vocabualry and develop learners visual cognition skills. 

 
4. 

2. How does it enhance teaching and/or learning or both? 
I think this app is very helpful for English-related exams and studying abroad. It contains various types of English listening articles and applies to different learning stages. It is integrated with the "Oulu Dictionary". When students find words that they don't recognize in the listening materials, this function can help look up the dictionary easily. What’s more, this app will recommend interesting learning resources every day according to the students’ English level without making English learning boring.

3. What specific skill does the technology aim to assist with improving?
 The aim of this app is to improve learners listening including the amount of English listening practice. Each radio station has a brief introduction, which allows learners to find the material quickly they want to listen to, and each English text is accompanied by a translation reference. In addition, learners also can practice oral English as well as reading in this app.

4. Provide a link to the tool or full APA citation of the article
  Learners can download this app on this website: http://www.eudic.net/v4/en/app/ting or download it in the app store on their phone or tablet.