This is a great example of what is already possible and what can be possible in the near future. There are many ways to use VR for language learning, but one of the most important aspects is for it to be fun. The learners need to be engaged and want to continue to use the method for it to be successful. Being able to immerse children or students of all ages in an interesting environment with engaging activities in the target language can have many positive benefits. I envision incorporating actual place names and accurate landscapes of traditional territories to teach lessons in the target language and connecting the people to the land virtually with periodic visits to the actual place.
Mixed reality is a technology still in its infancy; however, I see great potential for teaching second languages, specifically Indigenous languages. I envision being able to teach plant names, place names, medicine gathering and other cultural place based activities through technologies such as these. Many Indigenous people do not live close to their territory and would still like to learn their language and be able to learn their language in a place based setting. This technology is likely a long way off from being accessible to a majority of institutions; however, the benefits could be great.
The link below is to a systematic review for the application of Extended reality technology (XR) for learning new languages. Some of the benefits that were found include increased engagement, motivation, collaboration, a more comfortable and safe learning environment, decreased anxiety with language learning, vocabulary acquisition and enhanced story retelling. There were also a number of reported challenges and or barriers that ranged from technology issues to difficulty with how to incorporate VR in a way that maximizes the value of the technology. It appears, that with proper planning and studying of how to best implement XR technology into language learning, that there can be many benefits. I do not believe that using XR technology as your sole method of language teaching is the correct approach, but that it can be a powerful tool if used in combination with other proven language learning methods.
This video goes further in depth into the work of Michael Running Wolf, from my Module 3 Post 3, as well as the work of his wife Caroline Running Wolf, who is pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at UBC, studying the potential application of XR technologies in the revitalization of Indigenous languages. This video is filled with valuable information regarding the challenges and potential solutions with technology and Indigenous languages.
One of the highlights that I found particularly interesting was that Michael Running Wolf and his colleagues had found a way to “fork” the coding of open source AI technologies to incorporate Indigenous languages. They had found that most AI technologies were incredibly biased to the western world and specifically California, where google headquarters is located. They had to find a way to use the existing technology and adapt it to the different Indigenous languages they were working with. Furthermore, the complexity of polysynthetic languages in how they have no finite dictionary, as there are virtually an infinite combination of root words, prefixes, suffixes etc.
This article is about the work being done by Michael Running Wolf, who is a clinical instructor of computer science at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, on developing methods for documenting and maintaining Indigenous languages through automatic speech recognition software. This work is a precursor to his long term goal of providing a way for Indigenous youth to learn their language by way of technological immersion, using technologies such as virtual reality or augmented reality.
Part of the difficulty of developing automatic speech recognition for Indigenous languages is that in the field of computational linguistics, relatively little research has been devoted to Indigenous languages. An additional challenge is that many Indigenous languages are “polysynthetic” meaning that they have words that contain many morphemes, or units of language that cannot be further divided. As Michael Running Wolf points out, “polysynthetic languages often have very long words – words that can mean an entire sentence, or denote a sentence’s worth of meaning.”
Te reo Maori Speech Recognition: A Story of Community, Trust and Sovereignty
The work that the Maori people have done over the years to preserve their language is truly an inspiration. The Maori along with Hawaiians have been leading the way in Indigenous language revitalization for a very long time. This is another example of how they are leading the way and continue to be an inspiration for many people working in Indigenous language revitalization.
Speech recognition software
Te Hiku Media which is a charitable media organization, collectively belonging to the Far North iwi of Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto, Te Rārawa and Ngāti Kahu has adapted existing open sourced speech recognition software to understand the Maori language Te Reo Maori. This type of work is essential to developing virtual worlds where people can learn Indigenous languages. For example, if a virtual person in a metaverse type of environment was programmed to understand an Indigenous language with the speech recognition software, and could in turn speak back in said Indigenous language, a person could practice speaking in a virtual world as much as they wanted.
Data Sovereignty
Data sovereignty is another very important topic that is touched on in this video. Kaitiakitanga License is a license that Te Hiku Media is working on in order to protect their data. Their goal is to have only Maori led organizations and initiatives have access to their data, at least initially. They would also return a portion of profits made from the data back to the communities from which the data came.
There are currently a handful of VR and spatial desktop options for learning languages in an immersive environment. The article talks about immersion camps and how they are built on the idea that languages are best learned through culture. By immersing students in the culture of the target language by learning the customs and traditions, students, in theory, will be able to learn the language faster and have longer lasting connections with the language. Immersion camps are not always accessible for would be learners and some potential learners may not be comfortable with an in person immersion camp for various reasons. The article introduces some VR and spatial desktop options that can allow for immersion in a language in the metaverse.
The metaverse seems to be the next big thing in the internet realm, but will take time to implement. There are a number of companies working on their own version of a metaverse. The metaverse may be a place where language learning can thrive by facilitating a way to learn through the 4Cs (critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication). In the metaverse language learners would be able to work together in the same space to solve problems. The example used in this article is a language lesson in the kitchen where learners can walk around in a kitchen to discover what ingredients are available and work together to create a dish. In fully immersive VR using VR goggles the learners would use their bodies in real life to make their avatars gesture and interact with their peers. Below is a video demonstrating how students can interact in a VR program called Immerse.
XR technology is a developing technology and when it comes to using XR for learning languages, the technology is not yet where it needs to be. This article talks about how important AI and chatbot technology is to making a completely immersive environment and for XR technology to reach its potential as a language learning tool. Chatbot technology is advancing rapidly; however, that technology is focused on widely used languages such as English. Indigenous languages face an uphill battle to have AI chatbot technology developed for those languages, but not impossible.
I find this idea of a training program that enables Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids to connect with and learn from elders about cultural knowledge, history and language, while learning digital skills in technologies like augmented reality, animation and coding to be fascinating. I see this as a potential to not only teach children valuable digital skills while simultaneously learning from elders about Indigenous culture, history and language, but also as a way to build up XR language learning content that could help teach learners down the road. For example, I attended a Secwepemc language immersion school called Chief Atahm School and if a training program like this was included in the curriculum, the students could be contributing to Secwépemc language learning content while also gaining valuable skills that can help them in a growing area of employment. Some of the students that go through the training program and have learned Secwepemctsin at Chief Atahm School would have the skills to continue to work in language revitalization using XR technology after they have graduated high school. This could be part of creating the infrastructure to develop the required skills and talent to produce XR language learning content to help preserve and revitalize Secwépemc language and culture.
