International Journal of Language Academy ISSN:2342-0251 DOI Number: http://dx.doi.org/10.18033/ijla. Research Article Volume 7/4 December 2019 p. 304/318 International Journal of Language Academy Volume 7/4 December 2019 p. 304/318 APPLICATIONS FOR MOBILE ASSISTED FRENCH LEARNING: DUOLINGO AND MEMRISE Yabancı Dil Fransızca Öğretiminde Mobil Destekli Uygulamalar: Duolıngo ve Memrise Örnekleri Ertan KUŞÇU 1 Abstract The speed at which science and technology develops in the 21st century continue to baffle human beings, reaching from one end of the world to the other end of it has become as easy as touching a button with our fingers. As a result of all these developments, the obstacles to foreign language teaching have gradually disappeared and subsequently, learning or teaching a foreign language has become a lot easier, more economical, more enjoyable and more amusing. In other words, with the applications installed (Duolingo, Memrise) on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, it is now possible to master linguistic skills anywhere -- on the bus, in the shopping center, in the car, at home, in the park, etc. Moreover, apart from communicating and teaching foreign languages, some mobile applications can easily perform many unimaginable tasks such as banking transactions, shopping, giving directions, and weather forecasting. In this study, such applications as Duolingo and Memrise which can either be used online or be downloaded from Apple and Google markets have been examined. The most remarkable difference of these Internet- based applications from the classical language teaching practices is that they seek to teach the language to millions of people and make use of the techniques that have never been tried before. On the other hand, in the literature, these applications are referred to as e-learning and mobile learning. To give a brief sketch of them, Duolingo and Memrise can be described as applications aimed both at teaching language to the adults who cannot find the time to attend a course and at helping students improve their linguistic skills that they have gained at school. These applications can be accessed anywhere as long as a connection to the Internet is available or not. They help to improve the basic linguistic skills with games and stories; moreover, they are designed to work in accord with the theory which favors the teaching of a language on the basis of words and sentences. They are also designed to support the idea of teaching how to use the grammar rather than the grammar itself. These applications are enhanced with authentic materials which specialists in the area of teaching language have designed. Keywords: French, e-learning, mobile devices, mobile learning, mobile applications, Duolingo, Memrise. Öz 21. yüzyılda yaşanmakta olan bilimsel ve teknolojik gelişmeler, insanoğlunun başını olanca hızıyla döndürmeye devam ederken, dünyanın bir ucundan diğer ucuna ulaşmak parmağımızla bir tuşa dokunmak kadar kolay bir hale gelmiştir. İşte tüm bu gelişmeler sayesinde yabancı dil öğretiminin önündeki engeller yavaş yavaş ortadan kalkmış ve bunun sonucunda, yabancı dil öğrenmek ya da öğretmek daha kolay, daha ekonomik, daha zevkli ve daha bir eğlenceli bir biçimde gerçekleşmeye başlamıştır. Başka bir deyişle günümüzde akıllı telefon ve tablet gibi mobil araçlara yüklenen uygulamalarla (Duolingo, Memrise) otobüste, alışveriş merkezinde, arabada, evde, parkta kısacası her yerde dilsel becerileri geliştirebilmek ve ilerletebilmek mümkün olmaktadır. Dahası, iletişim kurma, resim çekme, mesaj gönderme ve yabancı dil öğretimi görevleri dışında, mobil araçlara yüklenen bazı uygulamalarla bankacılık işlemleri, alışveriş, yol tarifi, hava durumu gibi akla gelen gelmeyen birçok iş kolaylıkla yapılabilmektedir. 1 Doç.Dr., Pamukkale Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Frnsız Dili ve Edebiyatı ArticleHistory: Received 24/07/2019 Received in revised form 24/07/2019 Accepted 10/12/2019 Available online 20/12/2019