Language teaching in a mixed reality games environment

  • Authors:

  • David MW Powers;Richard Leibbrandt;Darius Pfitzner;Martin Luerssen;Trent Lewis;Arman Abrahamyan;Kate Stevens

  • Affiliations:

  • Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia;Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia;Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia;Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia;Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia;University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia;University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 1st international conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

How do you develop a game that is provably educational, that is engaging from pre-school to adult, and that independently targets different language ability and world experience/maturity? Our purpose is to teach students of German or English as a Second Language in the same way that a baby learns a First Language. Children acquire language automatically without overt teaching, without conjugating verbs, looking up dictionaries or taking complex classes in syntax and morphology. They acquire through being immersed in an environment in which they have to learn to communicate in the language in order to achieve a variety of social and personal goals. In this project we provide a mixed environment with real toys for the learner to play with, and a simulated environment and a simulated teacher/caregiver to interact with. Whilst young children may be happy building towers and bridges out of wooden blocks, older children and adults cannot be expected to find motivating goals from the same tasks as a baby tackles as s/he simultaneously learns about the world and his/her language, culture and society. This paper explores the methodology we are developing to independently control for degree of language knowledge and degree of world experience.