Hiking a mountain can be hard at times. But, you can always take another step. And eventually, one step after the other, at one moment, you discover that you have done it.
Learning a language can be hard at times. But you can always learn another word. And eventually, one word after the other, at one moment you discover that you have done it.
The meaning of Lucken
Last week I read an article in German about the professors at the University of Bern. It was the first time I’ve met the word Lücken. It means gaps. In that context, it meant that some lists had gaps in them. Quite abstract.
***
Today, I’ve discovered another context for the word in a blog which talks about the usability of web forms. The author argues that web forms should progress towards becoming Natural Language Forms, or Lücken texte das Man ausfüllt. In this context, the word is much more meaningful for me. I am quite sure that I won’t forget again the meaning of Lucken. It probably has the same root as the English to lack.
***
From this point of view, the feature of highlighting words being learned in Zeeguu seems to be very useful. At least for one word, and one person.
Environmental Learning
A little while ago I had a wonderful discussion with Michael Ernst, professor at University of Washington. Among other things, he mentioned that his wife has a PhD in second language acquisition. In this discussion I learned about the concept of environmental learning.
I realized, that the concept applies in our case. Zeeguu is aiming exactly at this: "accelerating environmental learning" by "intercepting" every interaction with the new words in the environment in which the learner is embedded (which can be virtual though, like an eBook or the Web), providing translations, and automatically updating the model that represents a users "degree of knowledge model".
Evidently, before the user is ready for environmental learning, he needs to get a good basic grasp of the language. Probably a vocabulary of 1000 words or so (although this remains to be decided by future research). For this, intensive language courses, or applications like DuoLingo are very useful.
N.B. Note that the concept of environmental learning is quite broad, and it can be discussed also in the context of "the classroom environment" it seems (e.g. this article)
I realized, that the concept applies in our case. Zeeguu is aiming exactly at this: "accelerating environmental learning" by "intercepting" every interaction with the new words in the environment in which the learner is embedded (which can be virtual though, like an eBook or the Web), providing translations, and automatically updating the model that represents a users "degree of knowledge model".
Evidently, before the user is ready for environmental learning, he needs to get a good basic grasp of the language. Probably a vocabulary of 1000 words or so (although this remains to be decided by future research). For this, intensive language courses, or applications like DuoLingo are very useful.
N.B. Note that the concept of environmental learning is quite broad, and it can be discussed also in the context of "the classroom environment" it seems (e.g. this article)
Just a tool
I was once learning to play the harmonica. The teacher explained how every individual harmonica lick was a tool that you had in your blues box. The more tools you had, the more interesting your playing.
Learning a new language is the same: the more tools you have in your language acquisition toolbox, the better your chances at mastering the language. Zeeguu is just one of these tools.
I believe that it is an awesome tool, but this remains to be proven.
Learning a new language is the same: the more tools you have in your language acquisition toolbox, the better your chances at mastering the language. Zeeguu is just one of these tools.
I believe that it is an awesome tool, but this remains to be proven.
Recognition rather than Recall
One user interaction design principle states that a system designer should favor recognition rather than recall:
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another.
The language exercises in the Language Gym of Zeeguu are designed with this concept in mind. It would be very interesting to see whether people find this system which is based on recognition to be more usable than flash cards which require recall.
What if...
... the vocabulary that you learn, is
The vocabulary that you need,
coming from
The texts that you read?
With zeeguu the texts that you read,
will eventually determine the vocabulary you will learn.
The vocabulary that you need,
coming from
The texts that you read?
With zeeguu the texts that you read,
will eventually determine the vocabulary you will learn.
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