Investigating the Use of Task Resumption Cues to Support Learning in Interruption-Prone Environments

Abstract

The ubiquity of mobile devices in peoples’ everyday life makes them a feasible tool for language learning. Learning anytime and anywhere creates great flexibility but comes with the inherent risk of infrequent learning and learning in interruption-prone environments. No matter the length of the learning break, it can negatively affect knowledge consolidation and recall. This work presents the design and implementation of memory cues to support task resumption in mobile language learning applications and two evaluations to assess their impact on user experience. An initial laboratory experiment (N = 15) revealed that while the presentation of the cues had no significant effect on objective performance measures (task completion time and error rate), the users still perceived the cues as helpful and would appreciate them in a mobile learning app. A follow-up study (N = 16) investigated revised cue designs in a real-world field setting and found that users particularly appreciated our interactive test cue design. We discuss strengths and limitations of our concept and implications for the application of task resumption cues beyond the scope of mobile language learning.