Review on VoLT (Vocabulary Learning Techniques):
VoLT, also known as Vocabulary Learning Techniques is a mobile only app developed by Abhishek Jain. It is an android-based app which will only work on Android phones (version 4.0.3 and up) and not on Apple products. The app can be downloaded for free from Google Play Store.
The Learning Outcomes:
You can pretty much understand the core learning outcomes of this app just after the initial screen which says, “Learn words, revise, take tests and much more.” The app is mostly targeted towards the CAT, GMAT, GRE , SAT, IELTS, TOEFL etc. examiners. From the app, students will be able to learn easy or complex vocabularies and the sentences created by those vocabularies. They will also be able to learn new words by analyzing pictures, GIFs and video tutorials.
User Friendliness:
The user interface is very interactive and it is really fun to navigate around the app. The app provides many features for the users to learn new words. So, there is always something new in whichever feature the user wants to explore. Although for an android user, the basic interface should be familiar but still the app helps the user step-by-step from the very start. It allows the user to sign in only by one touch only if the user has an active google mail account in the phone. It also allows the user to merge the Facebook ID with the app so the user can share whatever he wants to share from the app (new words, videos, gifs etc.)
Also, when a user signs in for the first time, the home screen shows which part to touch to start a feature by showing a sign above it. So, any basic English language learner can easily understand them.
Moreover, along with reading the words given, you can also get to listen how it sounds. The sound is loud and clear and provides actual pronunciation for each word. Also, there are pictures, videos and gifs (each having their own individual category) given with each albeit not necessarily translating the word but there are some analogical comparison present. But it is not mandatory to understand the picture and the word together.
You can also bookmark favorite or difficult words so you can revise them later in a different category.
Motivation:
The app allows the user to take tests in two formats (fill in the blanks and MCQ). I tried the MCQ test on ‘meanings’ of words. And this test alone is designed in a way to motivate users to test their memorization skill, or basic knowledge etc. There were 35 tests for ‘meaning’ only but only the first one is available at first. Rest of the tests are locked and to unlock the immediate next level, user will have to answer a minimum of right answers. To me it is highly motivational for any learner since it gives subtle challenge for the learners to complete while simultaneously learning vocabularies. Also, if you fail you can retake the test in which case the questions will be shuffled. On the other hand, if you succeed, you can check the answers and move on to the next test immediately. Besides leveling system, the quizzes also has a Badge system starting from “Beginner”. To earn a badge, user will have to complete a fixed number of answers first and then the next badge progress starts. You can check how much you have left to answer when you get the result from a quiz. The quizzes also have a timer so the user can track the time while completing a test for further skill checking. These type of rewarding system allows a student to have the urge of learning as they are also getting a sense of accomplishment.
Since the app has Facebook merging feature, user can share words in Facebook and help others learn the word and also know about the app.
The app also has literal motivational quotes section where a user can learn about real quotes from real personalities with word meaning for a single difficult word in the quote. It helps memorizing a bit better from my end.
It also has a dedicated section for news feed where a user can simply read some latest news about politics, technology, entertainment etc. There are no tests or quizzes designed for it.
Interaction:
Since it can be download from Google Play Store, the app already has a large user base who are constantly commenting on the app page informing other users and the developer about the app, its advantages, disadvantages, suggestions etc. But inside the app I found no hyperlink or dedicated link to visit any developer site or the owners page to leave a comment. Only way to do so is by visiting Play Store which may or may not be always helpful for users to reach the developers.
Limitation:
The app is absolutely marvelous and smart but it has few drawbacks as well. Upon reading the comments in Play Store and wandering through the app myself, I found some limitations that I need to address. First is the requirement of internet to get the initial access in the app. After the first access, internet is no longer needed to get into app the second time and onward. Considering the availability of the internet these days, this is not really a problem but the developers could have opted this initial internet requirement and leave the sign-in option for later. Also, inside the app, there was no option to save the progress. So, for example, if I answered 6/10 questions in a quiz and the app somehow crashes or closes, I will have to restart the quiz again with shuffled questions. Also, the words from the same stream are not present for example, if there’s a word “Plant”, there are no other words related to it such as Plantation, Planting, Planted etc. which are grammatically different and have different usages. It is always random words every time. The users also reported some words having wrong pronunciations as well.
Suggestions for the Developer:
My first suggestion would be to give users more access to the word list. Let them sort out words in alphabetic order or category (i.e. verb, adverb, noun etc.). Also, there should be an option to remove a word because some words are way too repetitive and it sometimes hampers the learning process. The quiz questions are shuffled each time anyone reenters the quiz but I would suggest to shuffle the answers as well so that a student can be more focused on reading the words, not reading the answer patterns. In addition, the app is prone to facing crashes as well as loading problems which should be patched properly.
The app should also be made for the apple users. I understand it’s not an easy task to develop an app for an entirely different architecture but apple users are missing out on the app and there should be way to fix it.
The app is by far the best vocabulary learning app I have seen so far. The biggest strength of this app is that it is free for all. You don’t see an app with these many features and not costing a dime from the users. It is a great initiative by the developer and I hope there will be more app like this to teach people about other aspects of English Language.
The Learning Outcomes:
You can pretty much understand the core learning outcomes of this app just after the initial screen which says, “Learn words, revise, take tests and much more.” The app is mostly targeted towards the CAT, GMAT, GRE , SAT, IELTS, TOEFL etc. examiners. From the app, students will be able to learn easy or complex vocabularies and the sentences created by those vocabularies. They will also be able to learn new words by analyzing pictures, GIFs and video tutorials.
User Friendliness:
The user interface is very interactive and it is really fun to navigate around the app. The app provides many features for the users to learn new words. So, there is always something new in whichever feature the user wants to explore. Although for an android user, the basic interface should be familiar but still the app helps the user step-by-step from the very start. It allows the user to sign in only by one touch only if the user has an active google mail account in the phone. It also allows the user to merge the Facebook ID with the app so the user can share whatever he wants to share from the app (new words, videos, gifs etc.)
Also, when a user signs in for the first time, the home screen shows which part to touch to start a feature by showing a sign above it. So, any basic English language learner can easily understand them.
Moreover, along with reading the words given, you can also get to listen how it sounds. The sound is loud and clear and provides actual pronunciation for each word. Also, there are pictures, videos and gifs (each having their own individual category) given with each albeit not necessarily translating the word but there are some analogical comparison present. But it is not mandatory to understand the picture and the word together.
You can also bookmark favorite or difficult words so you can revise them later in a different category.
Motivation:
The app allows the user to take tests in two formats (fill in the blanks and MCQ). I tried the MCQ test on ‘meanings’ of words. And this test alone is designed in a way to motivate users to test their memorization skill, or basic knowledge etc. There were 35 tests for ‘meaning’ only but only the first one is available at first. Rest of the tests are locked and to unlock the immediate next level, user will have to answer a minimum of right answers. To me it is highly motivational for any learner since it gives subtle challenge for the learners to complete while simultaneously learning vocabularies. Also, if you fail you can retake the test in which case the questions will be shuffled. On the other hand, if you succeed, you can check the answers and move on to the next test immediately. Besides leveling system, the quizzes also has a Badge system starting from “Beginner”. To earn a badge, user will have to complete a fixed number of answers first and then the next badge progress starts. You can check how much you have left to answer when you get the result from a quiz. The quizzes also have a timer so the user can track the time while completing a test for further skill checking. These type of rewarding system allows a student to have the urge of learning as they are also getting a sense of accomplishment.
Since the app has Facebook merging feature, user can share words in Facebook and help others learn the word and also know about the app.
The app also has literal motivational quotes section where a user can learn about real quotes from real personalities with word meaning for a single difficult word in the quote. It helps memorizing a bit better from my end.
It also has a dedicated section for news feed where a user can simply read some latest news about politics, technology, entertainment etc. There are no tests or quizzes designed for it.
Interaction:
Since it can be download from Google Play Store, the app already has a large user base who are constantly commenting on the app page informing other users and the developer about the app, its advantages, disadvantages, suggestions etc. But inside the app I found no hyperlink or dedicated link to visit any developer site or the owners page to leave a comment. Only way to do so is by visiting Play Store which may or may not be always helpful for users to reach the developers.
Limitation:
The app is absolutely marvelous and smart but it has few drawbacks as well. Upon reading the comments in Play Store and wandering through the app myself, I found some limitations that I need to address. First is the requirement of internet to get the initial access in the app. After the first access, internet is no longer needed to get into app the second time and onward. Considering the availability of the internet these days, this is not really a problem but the developers could have opted this initial internet requirement and leave the sign-in option for later. Also, inside the app, there was no option to save the progress. So, for example, if I answered 6/10 questions in a quiz and the app somehow crashes or closes, I will have to restart the quiz again with shuffled questions. Also, the words from the same stream are not present for example, if there’s a word “Plant”, there are no other words related to it such as Plantation, Planting, Planted etc. which are grammatically different and have different usages. It is always random words every time. The users also reported some words having wrong pronunciations as well.
Suggestions for the Developer:
My first suggestion would be to give users more access to the word list. Let them sort out words in alphabetic order or category (i.e. verb, adverb, noun etc.). Also, there should be an option to remove a word because some words are way too repetitive and it sometimes hampers the learning process. The quiz questions are shuffled each time anyone reenters the quiz but I would suggest to shuffle the answers as well so that a student can be more focused on reading the words, not reading the answer patterns. In addition, the app is prone to facing crashes as well as loading problems which should be patched properly.
The app should also be made for the apple users. I understand it’s not an easy task to develop an app for an entirely different architecture but apple users are missing out on the app and there should be way to fix it.
The app is by far the best vocabulary learning app I have seen so far. The biggest strength of this app is that it is free for all. You don’t see an app with these many features and not costing a dime from the users. It is a great initiative by the developer and I hope there will be more app like this to teach people about other aspects of English Language.
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