Allow me to take you back, back to school, in a classroom. You’re in Spanish class listening to a teacher talk about conjugations and you aren’t paying attention. Then you take out a headset and put it on.
You’re now in Barcelona in front of the La Sagrada Familia headed to a cafe for some coffee and grab a churro along the way. You order your things in Spanish with the help through prompts and tips. You only successfully complete everything if pronunciation is satisfactory.
Education
Ever attempt to learn a foreign language and end up quitting, or making excuses to avoid the tedious nature of studying? I know I have.
I remember having to take two mandatory Spanish classes in high school, and was not too thrilled. Of course I had an attractive teacher for the first class so I was thoroughly intrigued and was studious, but that’s besides the point.
Education is a well-discussed topic now more than ever it seems. There’s talk about how outdated the system and structure is. There’s talk about the never ending increase in college tuition fees and student debt. There’s talk about how under-appreciated teachers are, and they are.
Unfortunately I won’t be touching those topics but rather foreign language education in the US, the mentality of many Americans towards foreign languages, and how technology could help.
If your education was anything like mine, you were stuck in lectures all day long. You were told what to do, expected to say certain things, and obey all the school rules. When it came to studying English or any language, we were given words, structure, and rules to memorize. You may have been so lucky as to have had some sort of verbal practice in class, but it was usually rendered useless and more of a social activity to keep students awake.
Enter VR and AR
I went to a Meetup regarding VR education, and it was very exciting and inspiring to meet folks who are passionate about using VR and AR for educational purposes. When one thinks of AR or VR, one tends to think of games. I mean, we all love games! So why not gamify foreign language education?
There are so many implications for VR and AR in our lives. And I believe one is for foreign language education — if that wasn’t clear enough. Think about IKEA and how they provide you with a much needed tool with determining whether or not this piece of furniture is the perfect fit for you, your partner, your room, and its decor.
If we extend IKEA’s use of AR, we could imagine remix their app to apply to fashion — does this color suit me, is this size a true-fit, will this actually look good in-person — these are all valid thoughts and concerns many of us have when shopping online.
What if doctors and surgeons had the technology to better assimilate data? What if they were able to study a patient in a virtual environment prior to surgery? What if med students had the resources to study firsthand without actual intervention and practice on live patients?
Doctors, surgeons, med students, they would all be better at their jobs and it would significantly decrease the duration of an operation, minimize unforeseen circumstances, better diagnose patients, and diminish the time it takes to become a full-fledged practicing doctor.
Foreign Language Education
An interactive and lovely example of how VR could be used to enhance and improve education was mentioned in the beginning of this post. Another could be the use of AR and the surroundings of the user — they could learn the names of things around them with just a glance and a click of a button on a headset.
To branch off the previous example, imagine wearing a pair of cool looking glasses (better than the Google Glasses) and while you’re cooking a mean dinner, you could see the name of the actions and the terms of the ingredients you’re cooking with. If you were to do this on a regular or daily basis, you will instinctively pick up a language in no time.
An issue many face with when learning a foreign language is even if they were to successfully learn a foreign language to a decent extent, they eventually forget much of what they learned due to a simple reason — they don’t / can’t use it in their regular lives. This is why living and immersive lifestyle abroad in a foreign environment provides, but many cannot afford such an opportunity; many also are unwilling to give up a portion of their life for such a risky decision.
A technique I always tell my students (learning English) is to try to think in English at least a few times a day — whether or not you’re thinking it in your mind, or verbally speaking it out-loud to yourself or to someone else. This not only helps with practice, but also to maintain and keep your current level of understanding and communication.
This takes effort and many forget to do such tasks — you could argue they could set an alarm or reminder throughout the day to remind them — but with the power of AR being integrated into people’s daily lives would remove the annoying feeling of having to do a task and in return gamify the whole learning and practicing experience.
Translation
There are technologies which allow you to get instant translation and one could argue that it is now especially unnecessary to learn any foreign languages. This could be argued by many, but I find many Americans more than any others. I too was like this at some point so I get it. But now with international travel among Americans is on the rise, I believe it is a great opportunity and transition for foreign language education in America.
It used to be true simply because most Americans only traveled domestically, and to Mexico and Central America for beach vacations, all-inclusive hotel packages, and cruise trips. But now folks are going further and further abroad and for longer periods of time with a more genuine interest in foreign cultures.
Language
More importantly, each and every single language has their quirks. One line in a language may have the same meaning in another, but the connotation, the words, phrases, and its respective culture is also conveyed in that single line — it is what makes language beautiful and exquisite.
For example, a simple expression of gratitude can be perceived differently to other individuals in various languages. I could say “thank you” in English when someone opens the door for me, but I could also say “すみません” — used in the context of gratitude but has a connotation of “sorry” included.
Learning a language does not only encompass the words, phrases, grammar and structure but also the environment and experiences you’ve had while learning and practicing the language. It may not be known or realized at that point in time but your personality may change, or rather you may develop a separate personality which only comes out to play when interacting with that language.
I recall watching a Ted Talk some time ago of a language professor giving a speech explaining how multi-linguals have multiple personalities as well. I found it very informative and eye-opening. Unfortunately I cannot find it — if you find it I would love to get it!
TL;DR
Technology has helped us evolve in so many ways and in so many areas and industries. Even in education it has allowed access to unlimited resources of information on the internet and enable quality education regardless of your geographical location.
I believe languages are unique and should be preserved although the technology has slowly crept up and may be decreasing the need to learn foreign languages. They are each beautiful in their own way and are a representation of the history of humans, communities, society and culture.
VR and AR are great mediums that enable endless opportunities in education and in foreign language education. There are many studies on the benefits of becoming bilingual and multi-lingual and I feel they are valid and beneficial to society in general. Learning about people who are different from you and yourselves allows open communication, less misunderstandings and less fear. Also, it will lead the way for seeing one another as simply another person of the same species, but speak and walk differently from you.
