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Due to the extensive use of mobile devices and applications in society, they are being introduced into all areas of activity. Over the past decade, this has been especially true in the field of pedagogy, where mobile learning can help motivate and reward learners, as well as enhance the capacity of the education system (Garrison, 2016). Mobile learning became the most urgent issue during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021), when there was a need to update the learning system with the help of mobile devices in the context of total distance learning. The demand for the use of mobile devices in education, the media, business and entertainment is increasing. It is projected that the growth rate of mobile device sales from 2017 to 2022 will be 2.8% per year despite the fact that the progress of the global mobile device industry has significantly decreased over the period of 2020 (by 17%) (Alam, 2021). Therefore, many educational institutions were forced to immediately create projects to improve curricula and to revise a number of pedagogical practices basing them on the concept of modern mobile learning (Kozyreva & Olkhova, 2020). More than 1.5 billion students have switched to the system of mobile and distance learning, and today this system cannot exist without a daily source of updating information resources (mobile devices and their services) (Dias & Victor, 2017; Hussain et al., 2020; Önal et al., 2019; Panagiotidis et al., 2018).
Today there are many ways to obtain information. Therefore, it is obvious that new learning methods need to be introduced into the curriculum; these should involve not only the improvement of traditional pedagogical practices but also the introduction of online and mobile learning technologies into the curriculum (interactive tasks, educational mobile applications and games, online lessons, etc.) (Calamlam, 2021; Hodges & Weber, 2015).
Many scholars in the field of innovative teaching methods agree that mobile applications and learning games are one of the most effective methods in learning foreign languages, which reflects their relevance in the modern learning process (Elaish et al., 2017; Kohnke et al., 2019; Üstün-Aksoy & Dimililer, 2017). Mobile applications are typically used not only for learning foreign languages but also for other disciplines (mathematics, physical education, visual arts, etc.) (Han, 2019; Tsoukos et al., 2021).
Recently, many foreign language teachers have started using the Quizlet app (Sutherland, 2005; Van et al., 2020). This is a service for language learners to expand vocabulary. Quizlet is a free application that relies on game-based learning and a convenient mobile platform for creating one's own interactive flashcards to memorize vocabulary (Sutherland, 2005; Wikipedia, 2021). The application allows users to add images and audio files to the words being studied, and to ensure effective vocabulary memorization, it suggests performing tests and exercises in a playful way (Van et al. 2020).
At this stage of research on the use of mobile devices in education, there are problems of selecting the most effective mobile applications. Such applications should act as additional factors in increasing the effectiveness of learning in combination with traditional learning methods. Also, many researchers have analyzed the operation, functions, content and algorithms of such applications (Crompton & Traxler, 2019; Toto & Limone, 2019; Zhang & Zou, 2020). The use of digital platforms in the context of distance learning has also become a means of managing the learning process and student collaboration, as well as a way of planning, delivering and tracking the learning process (Acharjya & Das, 2022).