A Checklist Proposal for Assessing the Potential of Language Teaching Apps

Abstract

The use of mobile applications for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning has become widespread at all educational levels, increasing the difficulty in identifying the most technically and pedagogically suitable application for a specific teaching context. Although digital skills should be a central component in (prospective) FL teachers’ qualifications as one of their twenty-first-century skills, teachers may be inadequately prepared to select, evaluate, and use some of the newer technologies, namely mobile apps, to improve the language learning process within their teaching frameworks. Although there is a growing body of research on the evaluation of apps using checklists, very few studies focus on easily applicable, hands-on criteria for selecting and evaluating apps specifically for TEFL. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide a functional, accessible checklist to evaluate apps, enabling prospective and novice teachers to incorporate them into their instruction. The checklist considers technical, methodological, and linguistic features but maintains a focus on pedagogically relevant criteria.