Reaching Students of Many Languages and Cultures

1. Reaching Students of Many Languages and Cultures Rika Yoshii, Chair California State University San Marcos, USA Fusa Katada Waseda University, Japan Faeqa Alsadeqi University of Bahrain, Bahrain Felicia Zhang University of Canberra, Australia EDMEDIA 2003 Honolulu, Hawaii

2. While more and more computer-based materials are available via the Internet, the majority is still written for English speakers. This makes the materials virtually inaccessible to many students, or forces them to learn in English. Should the students learn in their own languages and why? How will we create materials in various languages? How will we “translate” existing materials from English to various languages? Should the students learn in the styles normally accepted by their own cultures? How will make this possible? How will we deliver materials to remote areas of the world? Issues

3. Outline • Presentation by each panelist (10 minutes each  40 minutes) • Summary of our views and Question and Answering with the audience on each issue

4. Individualization, International Designers and Support Tools by Rika Yoshii (ryoshii@csusm.edu) Strategies for developing materials for many cultures and languages: 1) Design sessions and design scripting tools that support individualization, 2) International groups of designers for multi-cultural designs, 3) Support software tools for multiple languages, 4) Script Editors and Interpreters minimizing the need for programmers, for fast affordable delivery.

5. Individualization • The Irvine-Geneva development strategy can be used to create conversational tutoring systems with individualized exercises. • Frequent Conversational interactions gather information about the student to choose the right response, exercises, or style for the student. • Pedagogical designers create “scripts” of student-system interactions. • Likely student responses must be listed for each question the system asks. • The system’s action for each likely response (plus student performance history) must be indicated.

6. International Designers • Include a variety of techniques used in different cultures. • Exclude any materials that are culturally offensive to certain groups. • Must include a variety of possible responses from different cultures. • Students of different countries will respond very differently to questions such as “how do you measure your body temperature?” or “what mode of transportation do you use to go to school?”

7. Translation • The translator must be familiar with the subject matter in order to use phrases and technical terms appropriate for the subject matter. • Translating likely student reponses • Cannot be direct translation • Will lead to more answer categories and system actions requring additional design sessions • One design cannot accommodate students of many different languages. We need tools to facilitate design modifications.

8. Support Tools Script Editor from the University of Geneva • Enter the script using a graphical editor • It generates some of the program code Script Editor-Interpreter from CSUSM • Enter the script using an editor • Interpreter causes the action of the CAI program • The design can be tested during the design session. There is no need for programmers.

9. For Many Languages • The Script Editor from Geneva helps the translation process • Shows texts of different languages in separate windows. • Knows where each text is in different language versions. • The Script Editor from California written in Java, assumes double-byte codes for character representation, making it easier to support Chinese and Japanese characters. • With the Editor and Interpreter as Java applets, both the development system and the tutoring system can be accessed via the Internet, leading to fast affordable delivery to a variety of countries.

10. Summary of Panelist Answers and Q/A5 issues – 4 minutes eachPlease address your question to a particular panelist or simply share your thoughts with us.

11. 1. Should the students learn in their own languages and why?(4 minutes) (RY) Yes, students should not have to learn to express concepts in a language they are not fluent in. Some technical terms may be borrowed from other languages. (FK) Ideally yes, since learning is facilitated most effectively by thinking in one’s native language. However, We must not assume that all languages are equally ready to express concepts to be learnt by the students (FA) Yes, and no: Yes, if the discipline they have chosen requires them to use their own language. This applies to liberal arts. If, however, the students are specializing in sciences that their languages cannot support sufficiently, then an international language such as English is preferable. (FZ) Yes. It is important to make people feel proud of their own cultural identity and heritage. In some fields, specialized knowledge of the subject seems to require specialized use of English or some other lingua franca

12. 2. How will we create materials in various languages? (4 minutes) • (RY) Groups of international designers. Use tools which facilitate design modification and translation. • (FK) International consultation is at least mandatory. • (FA) Each language group should undertake this task under the umbrella of a unified organization that overseas the validity and usefulness of various materials. • (FZ) Group of International Designers • should be the outcome of genuine dialogues. • the participants include national governments, program designers, education experts, parents, community leaders, local teachers, learners and also other stake holders such as International organizations – all might be involved, at various stages.

13. 3. How will we “translate” materials from English to various languages?(4 minutes) • (RY) Translators must be familiar with the topic being taught. Cannot be direct translation. Cultural adjustments and design modifications are needed. • (FK) In the near future a global lingua franca of computers might be a helpful tool to reduce translation cost. • (FA) The idea of a group of translators representing each language comes first to mind. A computer based instant translation program might be helpful.. • (FZ) Needs to be negotiated with the relevant national and/or local authorities in each context. • The final translation in the target languages should stand as authentic documents by themselves so that they can be cultural sensitivity in terms of both content and the format of the materials. • Local teachers (who might be monolingual and share a common language as the translator) need to work with subject teachers in the International team.

14. 4. Should the students learn in the styles normally accepted by their own cultures? (4 minutes) • (RY) Yes, but they can also be exposed to other styles. The computer program should adapt to each student’s need and preferences. • (FK) Yes. Language and culture are inseparable affecting ways to think in a given culture.   • (FA) Yes, since language is part of culture and one’s identity. These might be lost if a rigid style is imposed on language learning. A degree of flexibility is required only if it is effective. • (FZ) Yes and no. The spirit of this project is not to blindly accept any set of learning styles wholesale just because they are ‘normally’ accepted by a particular culture. • The design, conceptualization and implementation of the teaching materials need to be flexible and fuzzy enough so that ways of learning other than those prescribed by a particular culture can be activated or experienced by individuals or groups in a particular culture.

15. 5. How will we deliver materials to remote areas of the world?(4 minutes) • (RY) Internet. We can develop materials in Java. Alternatively, small inexpensive machines can be developed. • (FK) Internet, especially when the ubiquitous society is the present reality, but we must note the negative effect characterized in terns of linguistic-divide. • (FA) The Internet is obviously a key to that but we must bear in mind that some poorer parts of the world may not have access to computers; in other cases they may have difficulty accessing information, especially if there are government restrictions. • (FZ) Internet. We can develop materials in Java. • Use a range of high and low tech solutions to cater for a wide range of areas in the world. • Apart from the Internet, CDROMS and traditional textbooks can be used for areas without the Internet.