ISBN: 9789386176189 2016

NEED FOR MOBILE LEARNING APPS TO IMPART COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Dr.Arijit Ghosh

Abstract
The paper envisages the need for development of mobile learning platforms under the aegis of NSDC to foster the outreach
growth and scalability of skill developments, especially communication skills in English. The paper also discusses a mobile app,
Enguru 2.0 developed by Kings Learning which takes the onus of developing spoken English in the mobile platform.
Keywords: NSDC, communication skill, mobile apps, Enguru.

With the aegis of National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has
assimilated one hundred and thirty job description so far scattered in twenty three job sectors. National Skill Development is an
initiative of the government of India, under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship which intends to encourage
skill development by supporting creation of large, quality, for profit vocational institutions. English communication skill is one of
the most important skill that is important across all job sectors.
When we examine the module curriculum of English for Employability as available in the NSDC India website, it is
insufficient to cater self-access learning.Altogether the resources so far developed are for four Levels,consisting of 4 modules with
materials of three kinds: Class Cards, Facilitators Manual, and Participant Handbook. This curriculum is so far not online yet.
NSDC have roped in 267 training partners who are working in 6952 training centres across the country. Out of 80,33,299 people
trained, 2949120 people have been placed; which is roughly 37% of the total people trained (source: NSDC homepage).Even
higher percentage of people should find employment based on their skills and for that the outreach of the program has to increase
manifold in terms of quality quantity and scalability.
As of 2014 as per a UN report, there are more people in India with mobile phone than with access to toilet and improved
sanitation. It is evident that mobile has a wider user base which can be used effectively. As mobile technology gets cheaper day by
day more and more people will get access to basic android based smartphones which will facilitate dissemination of educational
multimedia content. The Banking sector has already identified this potential and has rolled out various models for monetary
transaction (IMPS for an example.) Another very important sector that have utilised the mobile platform is the NSDL along with
all the Brokers in the Stock Market. The lack of initiative of the government agencies in the development of mobile platform in
order to develop apps for skill development in English communication therefore clearly indicates lack of interestand skill of the
curricula developers and policy makers. At the same time most of the people who are involved in teaching English as a
communicative language in the primary, secondary or tertiary level are devoid of coding or programming skills. The teachers end
up being endusers of the new apps and technologies and they themselves cannot create any educational apps. Until and unless
teachers become competent to code their own apps there is no other wayother than to consume whatever is available in the apps
market. Of course it may appear to be a distant reality to find English teachers becoming successful coder, but we can always be
optimistic of the future generation of English teachers. We will definitely see a day when knowing computer coding will become
as essential as literacy.
Mobile phones have now wider application than transmitting human voice from one person to the other. Mobile phone
supports an array of multimedia and data services which can be tapped to developed mobile learning platform. The smart mobile,
a palm size device, has the following interactive features that are congenial to build interactive mobile learning platform:
Capability to incorporate media such as animation and videos
Capability of creating communities of users and integrating with social media to facilitate learning in groups.
Capability to fetch customisable and location based content with the integration of global positioning system.
In this context we will talk about a mobile based platform which is meant for improving spoken English. Enguru 2.0 is a
relatively new entrant in the apps store in the category of English language learning apps. It is an intuitive free and easy to access
package that facilitates learning English. Once downloaded and installed, the app can be used in the offline mode. The software is
free to use and even does not have advertisements in its environment. The story based game in the mobile platform is ideal for
self-directed and self-access language learner. The virtual environment simulates various work environments such as sales person
in a shop, a sales person in the cosmetic shop, and so on. The user has to complete one stage after other and select the correct
sentence patterns to greet the customer. On successful completion, the user earns virtual coins and trophies which can be shared
by the user in the social media directly. The game is also intuitive in the sense that it suggests higher level on its own based on the
performance of the user in the game. Otherwise, there are higher levels which remains locked until the user successfully
completes the preceding level. One difficulty in any language learning site or app is retention of learners and makes them come
back and engage with the app. Motivation is the most important positive re-enforcement technique to enrich any learning
environment. The learners are often challenged to complete or stay on the game continuously. For instance there is a seven day
streak challenge, where the user needs to be active for seven days in the app and can earn 1500 coins.
The app has a number of sections in which the content is divided. There are levels made up of lessons. The levels have
been categorised into four parts: beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate and lastly the intermediate. There are altogether 16
lessons spread out into all these levels. At the end of each cluster of levels there is an option to review. The other sections in this
app are conversation, games and a multiplayer option. The conversation section simulates real life situation in various market
place such as clothing store, electronic store, computer store etc. The user has to select the correct usage from the choices while
the timer runs simultaneously and based on accuracy and speed one gets scores in the form of coins. The app also has a

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 ISBN: 9789386176189 2016

multiplayer option where the users can invite their friends from their Facebook friends and challenge them to play a level and
compete for a better score.

The app has been designed by Kings Learning, a start-up which trains students and professional in English language. The Kings
College, UK has a small stake in this organisation.
The user assumes a character in the game and undertakes realistic conversations with buyers, co-workers, and supervisors
which assist them in improving their linguistic abilities in the English language skills. The conversation situations are based just
on the retail scenario alone. It has further scope of development to include all the job sectors as identified by NSDC. This will
have a positive impact on communication skill building.
References:
Collins, Timothy G. "English class on the air: mobile language learning with cell phones." Fifth IEEE International Conference
on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT'05). IEEE, 2005.

Enguru: Learn Spoken English - YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved August 1, 2016, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K76mfUVfx2Q

Greater Access to Cell Phones Than Toilets in India: UN - United Nations University. (n.d.). Retrieved August 1, 2016, from
http://unu.edu/media-relations/releases/greater-access-to-cell-phones-than-toilets-in-india.html

How this English learning app crossed 70K downloads in two months. (2015, July 9). Retrieved from
https://yourstory.com/2015/07/kings-learning/

National Skill Development Corporation. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.nsdcindia.org/

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