Human-computer interaction in foreign language learning applications: Applied linguistics viewpoint of mobile learning.

The current development in mobile learning has seen an unprecedented rise in the last decade and, moreover, the present pandemic situation has speeded up the process of eLearning implementation even in areas that were still rather reluctant in this respect. The paper attempts to provide the results and analysis of the subjective satisfaction of the users of these foreign language learning apps. Qualitative research was conducted at the Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove, the Czech Republic, as a qualitative study through a set of guided interviews with students/users. The respondents (n=18) were the students of information science and data science of the university; therefore, their opinion can prove to be very useful as they are well informed and they also represented the youngest generation, i.e. Millennials, who may have rather different needs from the previous generations, and these needs are, naturally, reflected in their use of technology. The tested apps belong to the most popular and most downloaded free apps for foreign language learning currently available in the iOS and Android markets. The findings of the research clearly show that the main concern of the users of the apps was the lack of AI utilization and old-fashioned interface of the apps despite the fact that they are relatively new. Another major concern was the old-fashioned design, and regarding human-computer interaction in these apps, the lack of machine learning and deep learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]