Virtual world language learning - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Virtual worlds are playing an increasingly important role in education, especially in language learning. By March 2007 it was estimated that over 200 universities or academic institutions were involved in Second Life (Cooke-Plagwitz, p. 548). Joe Miller, Linden Lab Vice President of Platform and Technology Development, claimed in 2009 that "Language learning is the most common education-based activity in Second Life". Many mainstream language institutes and private language schools are now using 3D virtual environments to support language learning.

History

Virtual worlds date back to the adventure games and simulations of the 1970s, for example Colossal Cave Adventure

Colossal Cave Adventure

Colossal Cave Adventure gave its name to the computer adventure game genre . It was originally designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky...

, a text-only simulation in which the user communicated with the computer by typing commands at the keyboard. These early adventure games and simulations led on to MUDs (Multi-user domains) and MOO

MOO

A MOO is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users are connected at the same time.The term MOO is used in two distinct, but related, senses...

s (Multi-user domains object-oriented), which language teachers were able to exploit for teaching foreign languages and intercultural understanding (Shield 2003).

Three-dimensional virtual worlds such as Traveler and Active Worlds

Active Worlds

Active Worlds is a 3D virtual reality platform. The Active Worlds client runs on Windows. Users assign themselves a name, log into the Active Worlds universe, and explore 3D virtual worlds and environments that other users have built. Users can chat with one another or build structures and areas...

, both of which appeared in the 1990s, were the next important development. Traveler included the possibility of audio communication (but not text chat) between avatars represented as disembodied heads in a three-dimensional abstract landscape. Svensson (2003) describes the Virtual Wedding Project, in which advanced students of English made use of Active Worlds as an arena for constructivist learning. The Adobe Atmosphere

Adobe Atmosphere

Adobe Atmosphere was a software platform for interacting with 3D computer graphics. 3D models created with the commercial program could be explored socially using a browser plugin available free of charge. Atmosphere was originally developed by Attitude Software as 3D Anarchy and was later bought...

software platform was also used to promote language learning in the Babel-M project (Williams & Weetman 2003).

The 3D world of Second Life

Second Life

Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

was launched in 2003. Initially perceived as another role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

(RPG), it began to attract the attention of language teachers. 2005 saw the first large-scale language school, Languagelab.com

Languagelab.com

Languagelab.com is an English school based on Second Life. It is the first school that teaches exclusively online in a virtual environment; students and teachers use avatars to navigate the environment and take part in lessons...

, open its doors in Second Life. By 2007, Languagelab.com

Languagelab.com

's custom VoIP (audio communication) solution was integrated with Second Life

Second Life

. Prior to that, teachers and students used separate applications for voice chat .

Many universities, such as Monash University, and language institutes, such as The British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

, Confucius Institute

Confucius Institute

Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutions that aim to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, as well as facilitating cultural exchanges. They are sometimes compared to language and culture promotion organizations such as France's...

, Instituto Cervantes

Instituto Cervantes

The Cervantes Institute is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes , the author of Don Quixote and perhaps the most important figure in the history of Spanish literature...

and the Goethe-Institut, have islands in Second Life specifically for language learning. Many professional and research organisations support virtual world language learning through their activities in Second Life. EUROCALL

EUROCALL

EUROCALL, full name the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning, is a not-for-profit educational association devoted to the promotion of the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning foreign languages: v. Davies G...

and CALICO

CALICO (consortium)

CALICO, full name The Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium, is a non-profit, self-governing, international organization devoted to the dissemination of information concerning language learning technology....

, two leading professional associations that promote language learning with the aid of new technologies, maintain a joint Virtual Worlds Special Interest Group (VW SIG) and a headquarters in Second Life.

Recent examples of creating sims in virtual worlds specifically for language education include the EU-funded NIFLAR project, the EU-funded AVALON project, and the EduNation Islands, which have been set up as a community of educators aiming to provide information about and facilities for language learning and teaching. NIFLAR is implemented both in Second Life and in OpenSim

OpenSimulator

OpenSimulator is an open-source server platform for hosting virtual worlds. It is compatible with the client for Second Life and can host alternative worlds with differing feature sets with multiple protocols.-Features:...

. Numerous other examples are described by Molka-Danielsen & Deutschmann (2009), and Walker, Davies & Hewer (2011).

Since 2007 a series of conferences known as SLanguages have taken place, bringing together practitioners and researchers in the field of language education in Second Life for a 24-hour event to celebrate languages and cultures within the 3D virtual world.

Approaches to language education in virtual worlds

Almost all virtual world educational projects envisage a blended learning

Blended learning

Blended learning refers to a mixing of different learning environments. It combines traditional face-to-face classroom methods with more modern computer-mediated activities. According to its proponents, the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and learners. Formerly,...

approach whereby the language learners are exposed to a 3D virtual environment for a specific activity or time period. Such approaches may combine the use of virtual worlds with other online and offline tools, such as 2D virtual learning environments (e.g. Moodle

Moodle

Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...

) or physical classrooms. SLOODLE, for example, is an open-source project which integrates the multi-user virtual environments of Second Life and/or OpenSim

OpenSimulator

with the Moodle learning-management system. Some language schools offer a complete language learning environment through a virtual world, e.g. Languagelab.com

Languagelab.com

and Avatar Languages

Virtual worlds such as Second Life are used for the immersive, collaborative and task-based, game-like opportunities they offer language learners. As such, virtual world language learning can be considered to offer distinct (although combinable) learning experiences.

Immersive: Immersive experiences draw on the ability to be surrounded by a certain (real or fictitious) environment that can stimulate language learning.
Social: Almost all 3D virtual spaces are inherently social environments where language learners can meet others, either to informally practice a language or to participate in more formal classes.
Creative: A less-developed approach to language learning in virtual worlds is that of constructing objects as part of a language learning activity. There is currently little documentation of such activities.

Six learnings framework

The “Six learnings framework” is a pedagogical outline developed for virtual world education in general. It sets out six possible ways to view an educational activity.

Exploring: learners explore a virtual world’s locations and communities as fieldwork for class.
Collaborating: learners work together within a virtual world on collaborative tasks.
Being: learners explore themselves and their identity through their presence in a virtual world, such as through role-play.
Building: learners construct objects within a virtual world.
Championing: learners promote real life causes through activities and presentations in a virtual world.
Expressing: learners represent activities within a virtual world to the outside world, through blogs, podcasts, presentations and videos.

How do people learn in 3D worlds?

The 7 Sensibilities of Virtual Worlds for Learning presentation by Karl Kapp and Tony O'Driscoll illustrates how a 3D environment makes learning fundamentally different.

The 3D Virtual Worlds Learning Archetypes presentation by Karl Kapp and Tony O'Driscoll describes 14 archetypes of how people learn in virtual worlds.

Constructivist approaches

3D virtual worlds are often used for constructivist

Constructivism (learning theory)

Constructivism is a theory of knowledge that argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. During infancy, it was an interaction between human experiences and their reflexes or behavior-patterns. Piaget called these systems of...

learning because of the opportunities for learners to explore, collaborate and be immersed within an environment of their choice. Some virtual worlds allow users to build objects and to change the appearance of their avatar and of their surroundings. Constructivist approaches such as task-based language learning and Dogme are applied to virtual world language learning because of the scope for learners to socially co-construct knowledge, in spheres of particular relevance to the learner.

Task-based language learning

Task-based language learning , also known as task-based language teaching or task-based instruction focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling...

(TBLL) has been commonly applied to virtual world language education. Task-based language learning focuses on the use of authentic language and encourages students to do real life tasks using the language being learned. Tasks can be highly transactional, where the student is carrying out everyday tasks such as visiting the doctor at the Chinese Island of Monash University in Second Life. Incidental knowledge about the medical system in China and cultural information can also be gained at the same time.

Other tasks may focus on more interactional language, such as those that involve more social activities or interviews within a virtual world.

Dogme language teaching

Dogme language teaching is considered to be both a methodology and a movement. Dogme is a communicative approach to language teaching that encourages teaching without published textbooks and focuses instead on conversational communication among learners and teacher. It has its roots in an...

is an approach that is essentially communicative, focusing mainly on conversation between learners and teacher rather than conventional textbooks. Although Dogme is perceived by some teachers as being anti-technology, it nevertheless appears to be particularly relevant to virtual world language learning because of the social, immersive and creative experiences offered by virtual worlds and the opportunities they offer for authentic communication and a learner-centred approach.

WebQuests

Virtual world WebQuests (also referred to as SurReal Quests) combine the concept of 2D WebQuests with the immersive and social experiences of 3D virtual worlds. Learners develop texts, audios or podcasts based on their research, part of which is within a virtual world.

Language villages

The concept of real-life language villages

English village

English villages are language education institutions which aim to create a language immersion environment for students of English in their own country....

has been replicated within virtual worlds to create a language immersion environment for language learners in their own country.

Virtual classrooms

Hundsberger (2009, p. 18) defines a virtual classroom thus:

“A virtual classroom in SL sets itself apart from other virtual classrooms in that an ordinary classroom is the place to learn a language whereas the SL virtual classroom is the place to practise a language. The connection to the outside world from a language lab is a 2D connection, but increasingly people enjoy rich and dynamic 3D environments such as SL as can be concluded from the high number of UK universities active in SL.”

To what extent a virtual classroom should offer only language practice rather than teaching a language as in a real-life classroom is a matter for debate. Hundsberger's view (p. 18) is that “[…] SL classrooms are not viewed as a replacement for real life classrooms. SL classrooms are an additional tool to be used by the teacher/learner.”

Virtual tourism

Language learning can take place in public spaces within virtual worlds. This offers greater flexibility with locations and students can choose the locations themselves, which enables a more constructivist approach.

The wide variety of replica places in Second Life, e.g. Barcelona, Berlin, London and Paris, offers opportunities for language learning through virtual tourism. Students can engage in conversation with native speakers who people these places, take part in conducted tours in different languages and even learn how to use Second Life in a language other than English.

The Hypergrid Adventurers Club is an open group of explorers who discuss and visit many different OpenSim

OpenSimulator

virtual worlds. By using Hypergrid connectivity, avatars can jump between completely different OpenSim grids while maintaining a singular identity and inventory.

The TAFE Western Institute Virtual Tourism Project commenced in 2010 and was funded by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s eLearning Innovations Project. It is focused on developing virtual worlds learning experiences for TVET Tourism students and is currently located at jokaydiaGRID, an OpenSim grid which supports a community of educators and artists.

The following tours of virtual worlds were presented at Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education 2011 Conference:

Autonomous learning

Virtual worlds offer exceptional opportunities for autonomous learning. The video Language learning in Second Life: an Introduction by Helen Myers (Karelia Kondor in SL) is a good illustration of an adult learner's experiences of her introduction to SL and in learning Italian.

Tandem learning (buddy learning)

Tandem learning, or buddy learning, takes autonomous learning one step further. This form of learning involves two people with different native languages working together as a pair in order to help one another to improve their language skills. Each partner helps the other through explanations in the foreign language. As this form of learning is based on communication between members of different language communities and cultures, it also facilitates intercultural learning

Intercultural learning

Intercultural learning is an area of research, study and application of knowledge about different cultures, their differences and similarities. On the one hand, it includes a theoretical and academic approach...

. A tandem learning group, Teach You Teach Me (Language Buddies), can be found in Second Life.

Holodecks

The term holodeck

Holodeck

A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...

derives from the Star Trek TV series and feature films, in which a holodeck is depicted as an enclosed room in which simulations can be created for training or entertainment. Holodecks offer exciting possibilities of calling up a range of instantly available simulations that can be used for entertainment, presentations, conferencing and, of course, teaching and learning. For example, if students of hospitality studies are being introduced to the language used in checking in at a hotel a simulation of a hotel reception area can be generated instantly by selecting the chosen simulation from a holodeck rezzer, a device that stores and generates different scenarios. Holodecks can also be used to encourage students to describe a scene or to even build a scene. Holodecks are commonly used for a range of role-plays.

CAVE technology

A Cave Automatic Virtual Environment

Cave Automatic Virtual Environment

A Cave Automatic Virtual Environment is an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to three, four, five or six of the walls of a room-sized cube...

(CAVE) is an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment where projectors are directed to three, four, five or six of the walls of a room-sized cube. The CAVE is a large theatre that sits in a larger room. The walls of the CAVE are made up of rear-projection screens, and the floor is made of a down-projection screen. High-resolution projectors display images on each of the screens by projecting the images onto mirrors which reflect the images onto the projection screens. The user will go inside the CAVE wearing special glasses to allow the 3D graphics that are generated by the CAVE to be seen. With these glasses, people using the CAVE can actually see objects floating in the air, and can walk around them, getting a realistic view of what the object would look like when they walk around it, e.g. Sneak Peek: iED CAVE at South Park Elementary School in Colorado.

O'Brien, Levy & Orich (2009) describe the viability of CAVE and PC technology as environments for assisting students to learn a foreign language and to experience the target culture in ways that are impossible through the use of other technologies.

Voice chat

Earlier virtual worlds, with the exception of Traveler (1996), offered only text chat. Voice chat was a later addition. Second Life did not introduce voice capabilities until 2007. Prior to this, independent VoIP systems, e.g. Ventrilo

Ventrilo

Ventrilo is a proprietary VoIP software which includes text chat.The Ventrilo client and server are both available as freeware for use with fewer than 8 people on the same server . The server software is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, or Unix variants such as Linux, Kopi, Solaris,...

, were used. Second Life's current internal voice system has the added ability to reproduce the effect of distance on voice loudness, so that there is an auditory sense of space amongst users.

Other virtual worlds, such as Twinity

Twinity

Twinity is the first 3D online virtual world to build true-to-scale replicas of large cities from all over the world. Twinity is developed by Metaversum GmbH, a company based in Berlin, Germany. It offers its population, called Twinizens, to navigate around virtual versions of real-world cities,...

, also offer internal voice systems. Browser-based 3D virtual environments tend to only offer text-chat communication, although voice chat seems likely to become more widespread. Vivox is the leading integrated voice platform for the social web, providing a Voice Toolbar for developers of virtual worlds and multiplayer games. Vivox is now spreading into OpenSim at an impressive growth rate, e.g. Avination will be offering in-world Vivox voice at no charge to its residents and region renters, as well as to customers who host private grids with the company.

The advent of voice chat in Second Life in 2007 was a major breakthrough. Communicating with one's voice is the sine qua non of language learning and teaching, but voice chat is not without its problems. Many Second Life users report on difficulties with voice chat, e.g. the sound being too soft, too loud or non-existent - or continually breaking up. This may be due to glitches in the Second Life software itself, but it is often due to individual users' poor understanding of how to set up audio on their computers and/or of inadequate bandwidth. A separate voice chat channel outside Second Life, e.g. Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

, may in such cases offer a solution.

Owning and renting land in virtual worlds

Owning or renting land in a virtual world is necessary for educators who wish to create learning environments for their students. Educators can then use the land to create permanent structures or temporary structures embedded within holodecks. The land can also be used for students undertaking building activities. Students may also use public sandboxes, but they may prefer to exhibit their creations more permanently on owned or rented land.

Most language educators own or rent land in a virtual world, or they may implement a standalone Sim-on-a-Stick. Use of Extended UPnP Hypergrid Services now allows virtual world visitors to access PC-based OpenSim standalones. This approach offers control over who is allowed to have access to the venue and the visitor permissions.

The Immersive Education Initiative iED revealed that it will provide free permanent virtual world land in OpenSim for one year to every school and non-profit organization that has at least one teacher, administrator, or student in attendance of any Immersive Education Initiative Summit.

Alternative 3D worlds

Many islands in Second Life have language- or culture-specific communities that offer language learners easy ways to practise a foreign language (Berry 2009). Second Life is the widest-used 3D world among members of the language teaching community, but there are many alternatives. General-purpose virtual environments such as Hangout, Avatar Hangout and browser-based 3D environments such as ExitReality and 3DXplorer offer 3D spaces for social learning, which may also include language learning. Google Street View

Google Street View

Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world...

and Google Earth

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...

also have a role to play in language learning and teaching.

Twinity replicates the real life cities of Berlin, Singapore, London and Miami, and offers language learners virtual locations with specific languages being spoken. Zon has been created specifically for learners of Chinese.

There is no shortage of choices of virtual world platforms. The following lists describe a variety of different virtual world platforms, their features and their target audiences:

ArianeB's list of 3D Virtual Worlds: A useful list of virtual worlds and multiplayer games, including embedded videos that show how they look.
Chris Smith's list of virtual worlds: A comprehensive list of virtual worlds, including some embedded videos.
Virtual Worlds List by Category: As the title suggests, a categorised list of virtual worlds. Links only, no descriptions.

Open Source 3D platforms for educators, such as the ReactionGrid under OpenSim

OpenSimulator

, which employs Hypergrid teleport technology, in conjunction with the emerging iED cross-platform and open source format File Formats Technology Working Group point to the future of a "Create Once, Experience Everywhere" Education Grid strategy.

OpenSim is employed as free open source standalone software, thus enabling a decentralized configuration of all educators, trainers, and users. Scott Provost, Director at the Free Open University, Washington DC, writes: "The advantage of Standalone is that Asset server and Inventory server are local on the same server and well connected to your sim. With Grids that is never the case. With Grids/Clouds that is never the case. On OSGrid with 5,000 regions and hundreds of users scalability problems are unavoidable. We plan on proposing 130,000 Standalone mega regions (in US schools) with Extended UPnP Hypergrid services. The extended services would include a suitcase or limited assets that would be live on the client". Such a standalone sim offers 180,000 prims for building, and can be distributed pre-configured together with a virtual world viewer using a USB storage stick or SD card. Pre-configured female and male avatars can also be stored on the stick, or even full-sim builds can be downloaded for targeted audiences without virtual world experience: Grid Demo, GovGrid Store. This is favorable for introductory users, who want a sandbox on demand and have no clue how to get started. Configuring an OpenSim standalone on a cellphone storage card has also been described, e.g. Nokia N900.

The Mixed Reality Users Community Group (MXU.CG) of the Immersive Education Initiative iED now offers a free open source Mixed Reality Kit.

Virtual world conferences

The first SLanguages conference took place on 23 June 2007. The SLanguages conference is now a free annual 24-hours event, bringing together practitioners and researchers in the field of language education in Second Life.

The Webheads in Action Online Convergence (WIAOC) conferences make use of Second Life, as well as presentations in Elluminate. Webheads describes itself as "An online community of practice of teachers and educators, practising peace and professional development through Web 2.0 and computer mediated communication".
SL Experiments is a group managed by Nergiz Kern (Daffodil Fargis in SL) for collecting and sharing ideas on how to use Second Life for teaching foreign languages. The group meets twice a month in Second Life. SL Experiments also exists as a sub-group in the AVALON Ning.

The Virtual Round Table conference takes place twice a year, focusing on language teaching technologies. A substantial part of the conference takes pace in Second Life.

The Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) is a community-based conference that provides opportunities for participants in all virtual worlds to share current teaching, learning, and research practices in 3D virtual environments. Conference presentations focus on teaching/learning, scholarly work, projects, events, activities and new and innovative tools for virtual education. Presenters focus on the identification of best practices in education designed for 3D virtual world technology.
Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable VWER meets weekly in SL and OpenSim alternately. The group meets each week to talk about issues that concern educators with regard to using virtual worlds as a teaching and learning tool. In late 2010, VWER announced, after a process of considering several alternatives, that they had opened a further virtual home, their own OpenSim grid, hosted by ReactionGrid. Details on this project can be found at the VWERGrid.
iED Summits are official Immersive Education Initiative conferences organized specifically for educators, researchers, and administrators. iED Summits consist of presentations, panel discussions, break-out sessions and workshops that provide attendees with an in-depth overview of immersive learning platforms, technologies and cutting-edge research from around the world. iED Summits feature new and emerging virtual worlds, learning games, educational simulations, mixed/augmented reality, and related teaching tools, techniques, technologies, standards and best practices.
The Virtual World Conference is an annual conference exploring the uses of virtual worlds for learning, collaborative work and business.

Innovation in teaching and learning through immersive virtual worlds is a major theme of Researching Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments ReLIVE, a conference from The Open University to bring together researchers and educators in this field.

Beyond virtual worlds

Virtual World Language Learning is a rapidly expanding field and it converges with other closely related areas, such as the use of MMOGs, SIEs and Mixed Reality

Mixed reality

Mixed reality refers to the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualisations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time...

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)

MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) are also used to support language learning, e.g. VWBPE 2011 provided state-of-art sessions for World of Warcraft in the Classroom. See also World of Warcraft in School. Elisabeth Hayes and John Carter McKnight describe an interdisciplinary university course that introduces students to community and governance in two virtual worlds, Second Life and World of Warcraft: Learning about Community in Virtual Worlds.

Synthetic immersive environments (SIEs)

SIEs are engineered 3D virtual spaces that integrate online gaming aspects. They are specifically designed for educational purposes and offer learners a collaborative and constructionist environment. They also allow the creators/designers to focus on specific skills and pedagogical objectives.

Mixed reality language learning

Mixed reality

Mixed reality refers to the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualisations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time...

convergence between virtual worlds and real life is offering new opportunities for language education. The Mixed Reality Users Community Group (MXU.CG) of the Immersive Education Initiative iED now offers a free open source Mixed Reality Kit (e.g.Mixed Reality Book: Earth Structure), deploying a so-called Quick Response code (QR Code

QR Code

A QR code is a type of matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and comparatively large storage capacity. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white...

): see Google Chrome Web Store.

Augmented Virtuality

Augmented virtuality

Augmented virtuality refers to the merging of real world objects into virtual worlds.As an intermediate case in the Virtuality Continuum, it refers to predominantly virtual spaces, where physical elements, e.g. physical objects or people, are dynamically integrated into, and can interact with the...

(AV) and Augmented Reality

Augmented reality

Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...

(AR) are gaining interest for language learning, especially for m-learning

M-learning

The term M-Learning, or "mobile learning", has different meanings for different communities. Although related to e-learning and distance education, it is distinct in its focus on learning across contexts and learning with mobile devices...

(Mobile Assisted Language Learning

Mobile Assisted Language Learning

-Definition:Mobile Assisted Language Learning describes an approach to language learning that is assisted or enhanced through the use of a handheld mobile device....

).

AV applications, such as the Layar

Layar

Layar is a Dutch company based in Amsterdam, founded in 2009 by Raimo van der Klein, Claire Boonstra and Maarten Lens-FitzGerald. They have created a mobile browser called Layar...

and Wikitude

Wikitude

Wikitude is a mobile augmented reality software which was developed by the Austrian developer company Wikitude GmbH and published in October 2008 as freeware. It displays information about the users' surroundings in a mobile camera view...

programs for the Smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

enable immersive and information-rich experiences in the real world and are therefore blurring the differences between real life and virtual worlds.

In contrast, Word Lens from QuestVisual is an AR application for the iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

and iPod Touch

IPod Touch

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...

(with video camera) which offers real time translation of text. You simply point your device's video camera at a sign and the program translates and superimposes the translated text onto the video in real time, thus establishing mobile capability for AR language learning.

Resources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.