Lingobee and Social Media: Mobile Language Learners as Social Networkers

This paper presents language learners as social networkers and describes and discusses the types of users that can be identified by analysing the content created by them using a situated mobile language learning app, LingoBee, based on the idea of crowd sourcing. Borrowing ideas from other studies conducted on social network users, we can identify that language learners use LingoBee as a social network and they behave as social networkers by creating content, acting as Conversationalists, Critics and displaying other behaviours shown by social networkers. In addition to this, from our user studies, it can be seen that the language learners are stimulated by the contributions of other users as well as welcoming competition among users. LingoBee users as social networkers were analysed and discussed based on Luckin's idea of the Zone of Proximal Assistance and the Zone of Available Assistance (Luckin, 2009).