With the development of technology, innovations are taking place in the education field, with smart device-based Chinese educational applications drawing attention. This study examines the current status of Chinese educational applications in Korea, China, and the U.S., and explores possible directions to design effective applications for Korean young learners. A total of 179 applications from three countries were investigated and classified based on educational application criteria. Among them, the top five applications were selected from each country using ratings and reviews. Each application was then evaluated and analyzed according to the evaluation criteria. The results demonstrated that applications from the U.S. were the highest scoring overall and highest in terms of content, with applications from China highest in terms of function. The result also presented three common problems, which are limited types of applications, the absence of camera function utilization, and the lack of learning activities to experience Chinese culture. This study recommends further discussions on Chinese educational applications with the broadened scope of application types and target learners.

This study examined how smart device applications affected elementary school students who have learning difficulties in English. Five 6th grade students who needed remedial instruction were selected and given 50 hours of instruction using English vocabulary flash cards in a smartphone application. one hundred vocabulary words were chosen and developed for flash cards for the students to examine their intellectual and emotional changes in English learning. The research results showed that the students' vocabulary improved in listening, reading and speaking. It also revealed that the students gained confidence and interest in English learning, and their anxiety decreased. In addition, the application was easy and convenient for the students to use, especially in recognizing the pronunciation and the meaning of the vocabulary words. This study recommends further development and use of smart device applications for elementary school English instruction.