2. Method
2.1. Participants
Thirty-four lower-intermediate language learners participated in a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study. They
were divided into experimental (n=17) and control groups (n=17) based on their choice to work with a mobile
dictionary or a printed one for their language course.
2.2. Instruments
Two instruments were used in this study: a language achievement test; and the Longman mobile and Longman
paperback Dictionary.
2.2.1. The language test
The language test consisted of 5 parts including listening (20 items), vocabulary (30 items), grammar (30 items),
reading comprehension (10 items) and writing. The test was administered twice, prior to the study and at the end of
the course. The test was scored out of 100. All parts except the writing part had a multiple choice format, and thus objectively (1 for correct and 0 for wrong answers). The writing part included writing a short paragraph
and was scored using a weighted rubric (Sokolik, 2003). The paragraphs were scored two times by the teacher.
The reliability of the first part of the test was estimated to be .86 and the intra-rater reliability of the writing part
was .89.
2.2.2. Longman mobile and printed dictionaries
The experimental group used the fifth edition of Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), mobile
phone version (version 1.3), registered on September 2012. The control group used the second impression of the
fifth edition of LDOCE printed in 2010.
2.3. Procedure
Both groups were pretested on their language ability prior to the course. For a 16-session semester the experimental
group used LDOCE installed on their mobile phones to do all their activities in and out of the classroom.
Meanwhile, the control group worked with LDOCE printed version to do their language activities. At the end of the
instruction both groups were post-tested on their language ability.