Filetype PDF | Posted on 24 Sep 2022 | 3 years ago
Authentication
digital resources
116x Filetype PDF File size 0.21 MB Source: fenix.tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Fishing for Words: A game to learn grammatical gender
in Portuguese
Pedro Bertrand Cabral
pedro.b.cabral@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
´
Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal
June 2019
Abstract
Learning a language can be very useful and fun, but also a lot of work. Some languages include a pe-
culiar feature that can provoke stumbles in learners whose native language lacks it: grammatical gender.
Mastering gender requires the learner to memorize a (mostly) arbitrary distinction between masculine
words, feminine words and sometimes more. Fortunately, modern times have brought us technologies
such as videogames, an interactive medium focused around learning and training skills. If players are
willing to spend hundreds of hours on a single game solely for the sake of entertainment, would they not
be willing to spend them if, besides being fun, the game taught them a valuable skill? It was in the spirit
of harvesting the potential of videogames as learning tools that this thesis was developed.
Wedeveloped a game for Android and Windows to help players memorize the gender of Portuguese
words at the A2 level of proficiency, including two alternative word-selection systems (which balance
the game’s difficulty in real-time according to the player’s performance). A full experimental procedure
wasdeveloped and tested, with the purpose of validating its effectiveness, which revealed several pitfalls
through which an experimenter evaluating such a game might fail to obtain results. In other words, we
provide insight into how to get the participants to play the game and stick with it, which ours did not.
Keywords: Grammatical Gender, Language, Education, Games, Videogames, Learning
1. Introduction prediction or real-time analysis, identifying what
In the face of ever-increasing globalisation and topics the user is more likely to struggle with.
ease of communication and travel, knowing a for- Techniques used in game design and gamification
eign language is a valuable asset. Learning addi- can similarly be applied to motivate and guide the
tional languages can lead to new work and busi- learner, grasping their interest, attention and effort
ness opportunities and open paths to other cul- away from distractions which might have defeated
tures, people, perspectives and ways of thought. traditional learning exercises.
Learning a language is also, on the other hand,
a significant investment of time, money and ef- One specific problem of language education is
fort. Fortunately, the last fifty years have introduced that of learning grammatical genders. In many lan-
cheap and portable computers, the internet and guages, nouns (and in some cases other words)
videogames, technologies which can be used as are classified as being either masculine or femi-
novel tools to learn in a more fun, quick way. It nine (and, in many languages, into other classes
is in the spirit of harvesting the potential of these and genders), which is the case in Portuguese
technologies as learning tools that this thesis was and Spanish, for example, but not English or Chi-
developed. nese. This masculine-feminine distinction is usu-
Asgames,appsandplatformscentredonlearn- allyseeminglyarbitraryandcanvaryevenbetween
ing languages rise in popularity, there is a need closely related languages. The combination of
to analyse and compare the various approaches gender variation between languages and linguis-
adopted by these existing efforts in light of older tic interference (the way the languages a person
techniques and research done on the subject of learns affect each other) is one of the core issues
language learning. Results from learning theory wewillattempttoaddressinthisthesisthroughthe
might help improve the methods applied by these development of a game for learning gender: Fish-
systems to present challenges to the user through ing for Words.
1
1.1. Problem description which can include inflection (modification) of the
People learning (or attempting to learn) any gen- noun itself, choosing other words to be in agree-
deredlanguage(inparticular, Portuguese)mustin- ment with the noun or picking the correct gender
variably memorize the gender of each noun, along according to the situation (in some languages, cer-
withthegrammarrulesthatgovernthem. Naturally, tain words can have more than one gender, usually
mastering this aspect of the language is a prereq- those having to do with people or animals).
uisite to mastering the language itself. This can 2.2.2 In Portuguese
be a slow process, even for otherwise advanced The Portuguese language retains two grammati-
learners, not only because there are many nouns cal genders from its ancestral Latin: feminine and
to learn, but because the hints that may be used masculine, which are applied to nouns, pronouns,
to guess the correct gender of a given word typi- adjectives and determiners (not to verbs, though
cally have exceptions, so one must learn both the these may have a gendered pronoun affixed to
regularities and the irregularities. them, written with a hyphen and not affecting the
Any game that is proposed to accomplish a par- verb’s stress). Some words may be used with ei-
ticular goal, be it artistic, educational, financial or ther gender, which may cause them to suffer inflec-
scientific, must inexorably be evaluated to deter- tion, change meaning entirely and/or simply reflect
mine whether it reaches that goal. Since our goal the biological sex of the entity they refer to. We will
is to create a game to help with learning the gen- refer to noninflected words that may be used with
der of Portuguese words, it makes sense to test it either gender as double-gendered.
in the same manner. Thus, our scientific problem, Typically, masculine wordsendwith-o whilefem-
which this thesis aims to answer, is this: inine words end with -a, but there are exceptions
How can a game to learn grammatical gender to this rule. There are also many other word end-
in Portuguese be tested to ensure that it fulfils its ings that hint at a particular gender, most of which
purpose? with exceptions of their own. This is a key concept
2. Literature Review usedinourTagSystem,whichisdescribedinSec-
In this section, we will present our theoretical re- tion 3.1.2. [2]
searchontherelevanttopicsfortheproject, mainly 2.3. Spaced repetition
exploring the necessary linguistic background and Spaced repetition is a simple technique used for
howgamesandgamificationcanbeusedtomake memorizing large numbers of items and retain-
tasks more engaging. ing them in long-term memory. The basis for
2.1. Language Proficiency Scale this method is that humans more easily retain
The Common European Framework of Reference information studied repeatedly over long periods
for Languages (CEFRL) defines 6 levels of profi- with time intervals between moments of study.
ciency for users of a language, from beginner to The classic system is the Leitner method pub-
native-like: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. lished in the 1970s, in which flashcards (cards
on which the items to be remembered are writ-
2.2. Grammatical Gender ten) are placed in numbered boxes and moved
2.2.1 In general upward when remembered correctly and down-
In many natural languages, nouns (and, depend- ward when remembered incorrectly. The lower the
ing on the language, other words, such as adjec- box’s number, the more frequently the cards within
tives, determiners and numerals) are divided into will be practiced, therefore the least-remembered
several classes, often including gender as one of items will be remembered more often (for exam-
the criteria of these classes. Other possible criteria ple, box 1 may be practiced every day and box 2
include animate versus inanimate, countable ver- every 2 days). [10] [23] Computer implementations
susuncountableandhumanversusnon-human. In of spaced repetition (such as Anki, Mnemosyne,
languages with these features, grammatical gen- Brainscape or Duolingo) usually implement some
der allows speakers to easily clarify a being’s sex variation of Leitner’s system or of the more com-
by inflecting the noun, for example, and they are plex SuperMemo system. [9] The Leitner system
useful in anaphora disambiguation (in some sen- is described in more detail in described in detail in
tences, they allow the reader/listener to infer whom Section 3.1.1.
or what each pronoun is referring to). [13] [16] [5] Spaced repetition can be applied to any field of
However, words’ genders often seem to have knowledgethatrequiresmechanicalmemorization,
been assigned arbitrarily, thus someone attempt- but it is particularly useful for learning languages.
ing to learn these languages must memorize the It cannot be used by itself to become fluent in a
correct gender for each noun, as well as the languagebecausethefundamentalpurposeoflan-
rules pertaining to them in that particular language, guages is to communicate with humans, which re-
2
quires the learner to develop understanding and 2.6. Games and apps
production of both speech and writing, but can In this next section, we will look into games, apps
beeffective for learning vocabulary, grammar rules and platforms for language learning. These are in-
and alphabets (or, more generally, characters and teresting to us as examples of what can be done
rules of writing systems). This knowledge can then and some of the implications of what can be done,
beusedtocomplementotherlearning techniques. providing insight and inspiration for our own solu-
2.4. Flow tion.
´ 2.6.1 Duolingo
Flow is a termed coined by Csıkszentmihalyi to de-
´ Duolingo1 (2012) is a gamified language-learning
scribe the psychological state in which a person is platform created by von Ahn and Hacker. In
completely immersed in the task they are perform- Duolingo, the user selects the language they wish
ing. It is a crucial concept in games, as games to learn and progresses along a (mostly) linear
are typically played for enjoyment, and experienc- chain of lessons, each of which consists of a short
ing enjoyment is part of the state of flow. Flow text introduction to the topic at hand and a se-
can even be used a way of measuring enjoyment ries of very short (typically involving a single sen-
in games. [15] [21] [20] Persons in this state are tence) exercises. In each exercise, the user is
described as being totally absorbed in the activity asked to perform a task such as translating, read-
at hand, being concentrated on completing it while ing aloud or write what they hear, which elicits
becoming unaware of the passage of time, their immediate feedback from Duolingo (whether the
physical surroundings and even their own self exis- answer was adequate and what mistakes were
tence and their basic physiological needs. Another made). This give-answer-get-feedback loop is es-
component of the state of flow is that the person sential to Duolingo’s approach and one of its gam-
derives pleasure from the task (it is intrinsically en- ification mechanisms.
joyable, or “autotelic”), they feel that they are using Duolingo employs space repetition, which is vis-
their maximum capabilities (the task is challenging ible to the users in the lesson menu. The system
to them), that they feel that they have control of the estimates how well the user remembers each les-
task and that they can overcome all the challenges sonbasedonhowmanytimestheypracticeditand
which will be presented to them further ahead (in when, with lessons practiced less or less recently
other words, the person must not feel helpless). being considered “weaker”, prompting the system
Acrucial condition for flow to occur and be main- to remind the user to practice them. Besides being
tained is the balance between the person’s abili- quite popular, it has been shown by studies that it
ties and the task’s difficulty (or perceived difficulty). is an effective learning tool. [25] [24]
This balance is not maintained, the person cannot
achieve flow and is likely to abandon the task. 2.6.2 Crystallize
As explained above, activities in which a state 2
of flow is achieved are rewarding by themselves, Crystallize is an academic project created at
which causes the individual to seek to repeat the Cornell University. It is a 3D online multiplayer
activity. And because the state of flow implies that videogame focused on teaching Japanese to En-
the individual is working at his full potential, sys- glish speakers which has gone through several it-
tematically achievingflowinataskcausesindividu- erations, though the following description is of the
als to become moreandmoreproficientatit,which version released on 2015-09-06. In Crystallize,
in turn fosters the necessary conditions for flow to the learners play foreign students at a Japanese
bemaintained. [18] [19] schoolwheretheyroam,interactingwithcomputer-
controlled Japanese students, known as NPCs
2.5. Gamification (non-player-characters). Players progress in the
Gamification is an umbrella term for applying el- game by adding words to their lexicon by speak-
ements from game design to non-game tasks with ing with these NPCs through menus in which they
the goal of increasing the users’ motivation and en- must select appropriate words from their current
gagement in those tasks. Though a proper defini- lexicon. Thus, Crystallize’s main gameplay loop
tion for the term is disputed, it has grown in popu- can be described as: learn word, practice word,
larity in the last decade. [12] It is not a technique use word.
restricted to the digital medium: they have been ThestudyconductedbyAndersenetal revealed
applied to areas such as commerce, education, that, although the interaction between players is
health, sustainable consumption, work and inno- very limited, simply having other players present
vation. [6] [7] was also reported to be enjoyable and motivating,
Later in this document we will look at Duolingo, which is in line with Bartle’s taxonomy of player
a particular case of a gamified language learning 1www.duolingo.com
platform. 2http://crystallize-online.com/
3
types: socializers are described as MMORPG ceive the number of points the presented aquar-
players who are mainly interested in chatting with ium is worth, otherwise they receive zero points.
other players, observing and being part of the com- Therefore, to maximize their score, a smart player
munitywhiletreatingthegameitselfasasideactiv- will choose an easy word-fish when presented
ity. [1] The game’s logs showed that players some- with a high-scoring aquarium and a difficult word-
times communicated in Japanese, which provides fish when presented with a low-scoring aquarium
extra practice. [22] [3] (to minimize the chance of answering incorrectly).
Players also engaged with the NPCs. The paper Each game is composed of 3 rounds with 5 fish
explains that the game’s design was thought out in each, so in each game it’s possible to accumulate
a way that would provide context, which research a maximum of 225 points. As the player accumu-
tells us helps people remember by tying ideas to lates points, they unlock new boats as a reward,
situations. which appear during the game but have no effect
2.6.3 Content-based platforms ongame’smechanics.
Someplatforms, like LingQ, Bliu Bliu, Yabla, Mem- Forthefirsttwogames,theplayerwillplayatuto-
rise and FluentU seek to motivate learners by al- rial, which consists of slightly modified versions of
lowing them to select aggregated third-party con- the game that make its rules easier to understand:
tent (video, audio and text) in the target language having a single fish instead of 5, darkening non-
that they wish to experience, so they are (ide- essential parts of the screen and large, animated
ally) exposedtocontentwhichintereststhemmost. objects to grab the player’s attention.
These platforms provide access to genuine mate- 3.1. Word selection systems
rial in the target language, contrasting with material Onecritical aspect of the game is what words from
written specifically with the purpose of language the list are shown to the player at a given time.
education (or recorded by professional voice ac- Thewordsmustbevariedandprovideachallenge
tors), which language educators regard as benefi- of appropriate difficulty, otherwise the player will
cial. [11] [14] become either bored or frustrated and will aban-
One problem this kind of platform faces is con- don game (as explained in Section 2.4), especially
tent curation. Because they aggregate third-party since, in Fishing for Words, the player has no con-
content, sometimes even uploaded by users rather trol whatsoever over this process, besides playing
than experts employed by the website, content the game.
must be filtered for quality, difficulty, correctness The basic idea of these systems was touched
and type. This can be hard to achieve and it is upon in Section 2.3. Ideally, the student should be
acommontargetofcriticism. [17] reminded of a piece of knowledge just when they
3. Implementation are about to forget it []. The basic implication of
Our game, Fishing for Words, mostly takes place this idea is that, as you might expect, words the
on a main screen representing a lake in a rainfor- studenthasmoredifficultywithshouldbepracticed
est, in the centre of which stands a fisherman on more often. With this knowledge in mind, we im-
their boat. The boat is flanked by a pink barrier plemented two systems for word selection in the
on the left and a blue barrier on the right, repre- game, one based on the classic Leitner System
senting the feminine and masculine genders, re- and one designed by us (the Tag System), which
spectively. In each round, the lake is filled with are described in the next sections.
5 fish, each with a Portuguese noun written on it. 3.1.1 Leitner System (Flashcards)
The player must then solve each word by passing Oneofthesystemsusedinthegametoselectthe
each fish through either the pink or blue barrier to next words to present to the player is known as
paint it the right colour (corresponding to the writ- the Leitner System, named after Sebastian Leit-
ten word’s gender) and place it on the top-right cor- ner, who published it in 1972. It was devised be-
ner of the screen. The game will flash green or red fore personal computers became common, so it
after each fish, indicating whether the player’s an- was originally accomplished using physical boxes
swer was correct or not, respectively. and cards (flashcards), and it was created to help
The game includes a score system. In each learners memorize any kind of knowledge (not just
round, the player is presented with 5 aquariums for language). [8]
the 5 fish. Each aquarium has a different score: Our version of the Leitner System is very similar
5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 points, and they are all pre- to the original (though it uses a computer in place
sentedtotheplayerinarandomorder,onebyone. of physical components). We have 443 “cards” (in
Once the player is presented with an aquarium, our case, the Portuguese words that the player is
they must solve one of the remaining fish/words meant to learn) and 5 boxes numbered 1, 2, 3, 4
in the lake: if they solve it correctly, they will re- and 5. Initially, every word is in box 1. Box 1 will
4
no reviews yet
Please Login to review.
