Vocab Express, the online foreign language vocabulary learning application has announced the launch date of a new enhanced version of the service along with a mobile app for students, to respond to the flexible learning needed for success in foreign languages.
Vocab Express version 2 will bring a new look and feel to the online application, engaging students further in their vocabulary learning activity and making it easier for teachers to track and monitor their progress.
A more flexible answer interpreter will be introduced, enabling synonyms to be accepted as correct answers and alleviating the sometimes frustrating situation when a student enters a correct translation but it is marked wrong as it is not the answer that is listed.
Recognising the importance of listening skills, a new dictation mode of vocabulary acquisition will be introduced which takes advantage of the 50,000+ audio files within Vocab Express, enabling students to listen to the term in the target language and then write it down in the target language, strengthening their immersion in the language.
A new method of vocabulary revision will be introduced and the new assignment module, which is already available in a beta version, will provide teachers with an extra level of insight into how students are performing outside of the classroom, being able to set and monitor student homework. Educators can view a breakdown of key information including the percentage of work completed, total time taken, total number of questions answered and total number of incorrect answers.
In light of the success of the Vocab Express National Language Championships, schools will also be able to run their own inter- and intra-school championships. Student participants can be divided into cohorts as required, such as by class or house, and challenged to test their vocabulary whenever in the academic year is most convenient for the school.
To support all this learning, a new mobile app for Android operating systems will also allow students to learn and test their vocabulary knowledge on-the-go at a time and place convenient to them, with all results linked back to their real-time school scoreboards. An iOS version will follow soon afterwards.
Justin Sycamore, managing director, Vocab Express says: “At its core, Vocab Express is about making the process of learning foreign languages easier for both students and staff. We’ve taken a step back and listened carefully to teachers’ feedback on the current Vocab Express and what else they required from the service. Incorporating this detailed feedback has been crucial in enabling us to develop a brand new, interactive Vocab Express.”
He continues: “The ongoing development of Vocab Express is vital to us and has been accelerated by our receipt of a grant from the Plymouth University and Western Morning News Growth Fund (PWGF), which recognised our potential to support the language learning community in schools. We hope that the new Vocab Express can do just that.”
March 2013