Masatoshi Ishikawa

Automatic creation of materials for vocabulary learning based on pictures by mobile phones of learners

When we learn a vocabulary, memorizing words with their corresponding images and pronunciations is more effective than memorizing them with only the texts of their spellings and meanings. But, unfortunately, it is arduous for some specific instructors to prepare a large amount of learning materials by combining movies and sounds. Hence, in our research project, we have developed and opened an online vocabulary learning environment where learning materials are automatically created by just inputting the movies captured by digital cameras of learners and the spellings and the meanings of the words. In this paper, to decrease burden of creating learning materials for learners, we extended the system by adding a new function so that a learning material is created automatically from a still image captured using a mobile phone equipped with a digital camera and sent to the SIGMA system by an e-mail with the corresponding spelling and meaning. By introducing the new function to the environment, we can accumulate the learning materials efficiently, and learners have opportunities to touch new words with a wide range of learning materials.

Online Multilingual Vocabulary System and Its Application in L2 Learning

In the field of second language teaching, vocabulary has been one of the most neglected areas in the classroom. Although language teachers/ instructors are well aware of the importance of vocabulary, there is not enough time in the classroom to actually ”teach” vocabulary. Therefore, we need to find ways to promote autonomous vocabulary learning so that students can make good use of their time outside the classrooms.In this study, we present an online vocabulary learning system that we have developed. The results obtained from our evaluation experiment indicate that our system is more effective in retaining the meaning of the words compared to the traditional learning method.As an example of applying this system to language learning, we will give a demonstration of a Japanese onomatopoeia dictionary that we are compiling. Onomatopoeia are especially troublesome for learners of the Japanese language. Although they are frequently used in both written and spoken Japanese, they are very difficult to translate to other languages. We demonstrate that by employing our system, learners are better able to understand the meaning and the context of each lexical item.

Effective Materials for Abstract Words in Foreign Vocabulary Learning

In an autonomous and collaborative learning environment where learners participate in learning material creation, it is difficult to accumulate materials for abstract words. In this study, we first define the abstraction level of words as well as its measurement method. Next, we prove that learners feel it difficult to create materials for abstract words. Finally, we pre-pare materials based on still images and movies, and compare their learning effect with respect to the abstraction levels of corresponding words to find effective materials for abstract words.

Short movie materials based on tessellation for foreign vocabulary learning

Mobile learning is suitable for vocabulary learning in foreign language acquirement. We have verified the effectiveness of short movie materials of about 5-second movies for foreign vocabulary learning. In a preliminary experiment, we observed a problem that for the foreign words corresponding to concrete concepts, (e.g. an apple), learners were able to estimate the meanings of the words without concentrating the word spellings if the materials provides still images representing the concepts themselves (e.g. a picture of an apple). Therefore, in this study, we proposed learning materials where concrete images are transformed into mosaic patterns and displayed for the beginning of materials by using the tessellation technique. In addition, we have implemented a system, WeeChe, by which users are able to generate such learning materials easily from still images or movies. We also conducted an evaluation experiment for its usability. As a result of an evaluation experiment with some subjects, many of the subjects reported more affirmative opinions for our new learning materials based on tessellation technique than those materials based on the original still images or movies.