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Zengo Sayu: Japanese Language Learning Environment

Watch a short video introduction of Zengo Sayu

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Introduction to Zengo Sayu approach.
© 1995 Howard Rose

The lack of proficient foreign language speakers in the U.S. is often cited as a significant threat to economic and national security. New instructional approaches which leverage new, interactive technologies can be harnessed to make language instruction more effective and enjoyable for students. Zengo is a 3D virtual world to teach Japanese, designed to demonstrate the pedagogical value and feasibility of using virtual worlds for language learning. A prototype of Zengo was built and tested in 1995 Human Interface Technology Laboratory, University of Washingon by Howard Rose. Notably this was the first-ever application of immersive virtual reality for language learning. Zengo proved that a visceral experience in VR can help students learn naturally and enjoyably. Students reported learning in the virtual environment was substantially different from their typical classroom experiences, and that grounding learning in meaningful experience helped enhance their ability to understand, absorb and recall the language.

This virtual reality approach for teaching foreign language enables students to take control of their own learning and explore the language in an environment built to support them. Zengo Sayu is a direct method of language instruction which conveys meaning directly through readily understood objects and situations rather than relying on English translations. Zengo Sayu uses digitized voice samples for natural speech reproduction. The environment also includes voice and gesture recognition capabilities which greatly expand the useful possibilities for this educational approach. The prototype hardware included a helmet, position tracking and a network of computers costing $350,000. Current technology makes a hands-on VR experience accessible on a desktop PC or game console.

Zengo Sayu's four learning modes.

1. Five Colors and One Noun: Students establish builds basic vocabulary through experience and listening. This mode demonstrates the most rudimentary use of the environment as a talking dictionary.

2. Preposition Table: Students learn a new noun (table), 5 prepositions and begin to hear words used in longer phrases. Mode Two activities require students to perceive and act in all three dimensions of the virtual environment.

3. Free Experimentation, Using the Query Wand: The student continues to learn and practice by building structures. Learning is tested and supported by aspects of the environment such as the Query Wand, which allows the student to pose questions about specific object relationships.

4. Following Commands, Building Models: Mode Four tests students' progress in the context of a construction game. At the simplest level, the student is shown a model which she must recreate while listening to verbal commands. The game becomes progressively more challenging when the model is hidden from the student, forcing her to rely only on the verbal commands. Zengo Sayu can also become a multi-player game, where two or more students learn and test each other within the same virtual environment.

Zengo Sayu: Japanese Language Learning Environment

Zengo Sayu's four learning modes.

Further Reading on Zengo Sayu: