University Daily Kansan / Thursday, January 31, 1991
5
Adventure games aid in learning
New computer program challenges kids to learn as they navigate linguistic mazes
By Sarah Davis Kansan staff writer
sunith 1.1 luan/KANSAN
Clifton Pye displays the title screen of a computer adventure program he created to teach a Malayan language to children.
Imagine playing a computer adventure game to learn a language. That's just what Clint Pye, associates with the field of linguistics, has in mind.
Pye is in the process of developing Martian Explorer, an adventure game that he hopes will help children learn languages.
"We're just at the beginning, where we're trying to set up a natural situation to expose the children to the language," he said. "And once we make that framework set up, we hope to find out what techniques work best for exposing the children to the language."
"So once the children will learn the magic language, then they can manipulate that magic language in order to move around in the adventure game." Pye said.
Children playing the game explore another planet through a computer. The children guide their players through various mazes using eight magic words, such as "onwik," which means "1 run."
The words are part of Mini K'iche, a language Pye adopted from K'iche, a Malayan language he learned in Guatemala.
Pye said he chose the language for many reasons. He wrote his dissertation on K'iche and spent two years in Tanzania, then returned to America on how children 2 to 3 years old learn
in natural settings.
He said that presenting the words in an interactive context was the most important use of the computer for the children.
"Not only are they exposed to the words, but they can use the words themselves interactively with the computer," he said. "I think that is the biggest help to learning how to use a language so they can try the words out, make mistakes and then correct those mistakes."
Pye said he hoped that because the computer taught language in a natural context, children would learn it faster.
"Children just absorb words that are around them in their environment," he said. "And that's the aspect of natural learning that we're trying to duplicate using this experiment.
"Nobody is showing how them and what the word is. Nobody is defining the word and telling them how to use it, and so they pick words up naturally and immediately put them to use in their own language system. And it's that capacity that we're really trying to tan into."
For more than six years, Pye has been working with a partner, David Ingram, professor of linguistics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Ingram said that computers were useful in determining how children learn language.
"We can test very efficiently how children may acquire patterns for language." Ingram said. "We can learn by playing with the game, it takes someone to solve the game."
Pye said that, right now, the game was too difficult for the children 9 to 10 years old he intended it for, so he hoped to simplify it.
"We're trying to simplify our games so children won't get discouraged and they will be able to continue through the whole game." Pye said. He said his 10 year old son and two friends of his son have been the only ones in his group to win.
enjoy the game and that's what we want to make sure that we get in all our future games." Pye said, "That the fun of playing the game carries them through so we don't view it as a language-learning experience. We're trying to tap into a game-play involvement so that they are presented with an adventure game that they think is fun."
An Ivy Clifton's son, said he had fun playing the adventure game and liked the idea of learning a language on the computer.
"Both he and his friends have
"I support the idea because it's more interesting than having to write out words," he said.
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Now KU can afford to dream in color.
Apple introduces the Macintosh LC.
was just a dream, then the new, affordable Maentosh LC is a dream come true.
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The Macintosh LC is rich in color Unlike many computers that can display only 16 colors at once, the Macintosh LC expands your palette to 256 colors. It also comes with a microphone and new sound input technology that lets you personalize your work by adding voice or other sounds.
Take a look at the Macintosh LC and see what it gives you. Then pinch yourself. It's better than a dream—it's a Macintosh.
Low-cost color Macintosh LC's now available at the KU Bookstore.
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