Physicality and language learning

The study draws on the digital technology which allows users to be able to learn both linguistic and non-linguistic skills at the same time. Activity recognition as well as wireless sensor technology, similar to a Nintendo Wii, is embedded or attached to the equipment and ingredients, allowing users to detect and evaluate progress as they carry out their cooking tasks in a real world kitchen. 48 adult participants from 20 countries in total cook, both in a digital kitchen by using real objects and in the classroom by looking at typical pictures/photos in the textbook. These learners from diverse cultural background pose a great potential to the generalizability of the current study. Research questions are: does using real objects to cook in the digital kitchen help students learn vocabulary items better than looking at photos of the objects in the classroom? If so, to what extent? This study attempts to see the effect of physicality in combination with digital technology on foreign vocabulary learning by a experimental design. This project not only helps address well-known problems in relation to classroom teaching and learning, but supports the development of innovative information and communications technology for language learning across the world.