Human-computer interaction (HCI) was pioneered by Professor Ben Shneiderman and has since evolved with the industrial revolution, providing more fresh ideas for its integration (Shneiderman et al., 2017). The notion behind HCI is to provide an effective interaction between humans and computers, which means that any computer system design should be feasible and easily accessible for users. Though HCI is more toward the computing field, education incorporates technology, too. The emerging field of HCI opens up more opportunities for technology integration in education, particularly language learning via various media such as mobile applications. Technology creates more workforces in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) field. The STEM field is vast, yet the number of STEM pursuers is declining due to poor command of the English language among non-native speakers (Lacosse et al., 2020; Lee and Stephens, 2020) because of limited vocabulary in STEM (Fang and Liu, 2020). Despite learning the English language from young, learners still find it challenging to master English (Aravind and Rajasekaran, 2020).

Vocabulary acquisition is indeed crucial in ensuring the success of language learning. Despite having other skills in the English language such as grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, the mastery of vocabulary is more vital. This is because, without proper vocabulary in the language, learners will be unable to use the language in terms of accuracy and fluency (Wallace and Lee, 2020; Yunus et al., 2020). A study reported that one of the factors associated with the difficulties in learning the second language is the lack of vocabulary (Misbah et al., 2017). Similarly, studies reported that one barrier to learning English includes anxiety (Ahsan et al., 2020) due to teachers' inability to scaffold language learning (Nasr et al., 2020). In traditional classroom teaching and learning, Vygotsky mentioned the vital role to scaffold learning (Vygotsky, 1997). With scaffolding, learners would learn better. However, the pandemic has reformed education to online platforms. Thus, technology, particularly a mobile application, helps (Hashim, 2018). But before creating a mobile app, it is crucial to identify the needs of learners to ensure that the mobile learning modules cater to the needs of learners (Patel et al., 2018; Rafiq et al., 2019), rendering to the importance of HCI.

Needs analysis is indeed an essential aspect of research, especially in identifying the learning problems of learners. A study toward service technicians in the pest control industry reported that the technicians need English communication skills (Hee and Zainal, 2018). This includes listening and speaking skills, rendering a better job performance. Similar findings were reported by a study toward maritime students (Aeni et al., 2018). However, a study carried out on lawyers reported that the needs in Legal English are public speaking, acquisition of vocabulary, legal writing, and phone communication skills (Sierocka et al., 2019). This is true because Legal English has different vocabularies to General English (GE). It is one of the studies which emphasized vocabulary acquisition in a particular field.

In the context of the STEM field of studies, Rossikhina et al. (2019) reported the unexpected needs analysis findings from engineering students at a Russian technological university, whereby the most crucial skill for these engineering students is reading because English is rarely used in communication and writing. However, a more recent study reported that the needs of pharmacy learners are in terms of speaking abilities (Syakur et al., 2020). Regardless, it was also mentioned that the overall competency was important, similar to what had been stated by Ye (2020). Therefore, it is vital as a guide for researchers to identify learners' targets and learning needs, specifically in different contexts.

Based on the above-mentioned discussion, it could be seen that there is a gap in the vocabulary for STEM in English because each field focuses on different vocabulary. Therefore, it needs a novel solution from the perspective of HCI. Almost everyone owns a mobile device, which means a mobile application can create supplementary lessons for STEM learners as a new advanced platform for learning (Klimova and Pikhart, 2021; Rafiq et al., 2021). Hence, this study aims to explore the needs of STEM learners in creating the English language competency mobile module.

From the analysis, eleven subthemes emerged, categorized into four main themes: (1) Importance of English, (2) Problems in learning English, (3) Strategies in learning English, and (4) Mobile readiness in learning English. Table 1 summarizes the main themes and subthemes for this study.

This study aimed to explore the needs of STEM learners in creating the English language competency mobile module, adhering to HCI. The freedom to learn STEM subjects in different languages might cause difficulties for learners in the future (Ye, 2020). With reference to the findings from the needs analysis, it is vital to have a well-built application, ensuring users' comfort in interacting with the system to learn the language effectively (Shneiderman et al., 2017). As highlighted in the findings, vocabulary acquisition is fundamental to language learning. This contradicts previous studies that mentioned that the essential skill in language learning is speaking skills (Aeni et al., 2018; Hee and Zainal, 2018; Syakur et al., 2020). One reason is that second language learners face challenges acquiring vocabulary for the second language; hence, they require adequate vocabulary to master all other language skills. As supported by Sierocka et al. (2019), vocabulary acquisition is crucial for different learners because the terms and jargon differ for each field of study, rendering to the importance of acquiring specific vocabulary for specific contexts.

Additionally, this study showed that many STEM learners mentioned being anxious and shy to speak English. Supporting the findings, a study that looked into the factors affecting English language learners' shyness reported that they had limited knowledge of the language, resulting in anxiety (Ahsan et al., 2020). This is an issue among second or foreign language learners, where they need to acquire vocabulary to use the English language proficiently. Without the basic knowledge of vocabulary or words in English, learners will face difficulties (Misbah et al., 2017), especially STEM graduates who need English to perform efficiently. Therefore, findings from this study could contribute to a well-designed mobile app. With a proper design of the mobile app, adhering to HCI aspects, learners will be able to acquire vocabulary any time anywhere.

Human–computer interaction prioritizes multiple interaction patterns and the openness of the design space. Participants in this study mentioned the use of audio–visual materials. However, one participant also specified the teacher's involvement. Although the focus is on technology in HCI, there is a need to look into human interaction. Therefore, findings from this study clearly showed the importance of HCI to ensure that teachers' presence is also an aspect to be considered when developing an app. In enhancement, app development via HCI could embed the social constructivism theory by Vygotsky (1997) to include a teacher's role to scaffold language learning. Regardless, technological elements, such as audio–visual materials are preferred by learners as supported by other studies as well (Hashim, 2018; Rafiq et al., 2021). However, media or tools should not replace teachers' role as teachers who scaffold learning will give a better outcome for learners (Nasr et al., 2020). This provides more opportunities for researchers to implement HCI constructs in designing a mobile application to enhance second language learning.

This study was carried out to explore the needs of STEM learners in creating an English language competency mobile module, which looked into specific samples with specific backgrounds. There are limitations to our study. First, there is a limitation in transferability. Also, the number of participants who volunteered was from one class in a public school; hence the sample might not represent the whole population of STEM learners. Despite the limitations, this study has strengths. First, this study is one of the earliest studies to look into the needs of STEM learners in second language learning from the HCI perspective. Second, this study provides evidence that learners have their preferences in learning via a mobile app, which can be considered when designing and developing feasible mobile applications.

One major significance of this study contributes to the language policy aspect. Many non-native countries teach English as either a second or foreign language, especially in higher education, because English is an international language and learning English is necessary for education, especially for learners to further their education (Wallace and Lee, 2020). With that in mind, policymakers could look into introducing English for STEM in high schools to further assist and prepare learners for higher education. Findings from this study are one of the earliest preliminary studies looking at English language, STEM and mobile integration, a multidisciplinary study. Contributing to the analysis stage in design and development, this study enlightens course developers, assisting them in developing a mobile app from the perspective of HCI. This study advances a novel perspective view for second language learning with appropriate technology design and integration via HCI.

This study proposed exploring the needs of STEM learners in an English language competency mobile module. The results from the interview implied that STEM and English language rely on each other because language ability is an important aspect. This study also implied the importance of introducing vocabulary to second language learners first before teaching other language skills. This is because vocabulary is the foundation of language learning. Furthermore, findings from this study implied that further research on HCI to assist vocabulary learning is feasible, opening up more opportunities for future research on HCI.

This study is significant for mobile app designers, English language teachers and course designers as the findings provide an overview of the STEM learners' needs in the English language. This study looks into learners' perspectives in mobile learning, which gives more effectiveness to HCI, rendering success to second language acquisition. One notable finding from this study, which is the mobile readiness of learners, provides insight into future mobile learning research. This study is only a preliminary study, and future work could look into the HCI aspect in designing and developing a mobile app to enhance STEM learners' English language competency.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent from the patients/ participants or patients/participants legal guardian/next of kin was not required to participate in this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

KRMR, HH, and MMY conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and performed final analyses and co-drafted the manuscript. KRMR collected field data, entered study data, assisted in data analysis, and interpretation of study results. All authors read, revised, and approved the final manuscript.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia funded this research with Grant No. GG-2021-003.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.