Design and Construction of a Virtual Environment
for Japanese Language Instruction

by Howard Rose

List of Figures

1. The student is represented as a virtual hand in the environment

2. View of Zengo Sayu environment from above

3. Inside the environment, shown with a model configuration and boxes for students to recreate the model (advanced stage of the environment)

4. Student using the Zengo Sayu environment

5. Student using the Zengo Sayu environment. Note the Polhemus tracking source hanging above the student

6. Hardware system diagram for Zengo Sayu

7. Color orbs appear above the translucent box when the student enters the environment

8. Picking the orb, the student hears the word for red: "Aka."

9. The student places the red orb into the translucent box to create a red box: "Akai hako."

10. The red box flies from the table onto the stage area

11. Prepostion Table. Student touches the box under the table to hear: "Shita (under). Shita. Teburu no shita ni arimasu (under the table). Shita."

12. Using the Query Wand, the student can hear a whole sentence: "Shiroi hako wa teburu no shita ni arimasu." (The white box is under the table.)

13. Example of using the Query Wand at the Preposition Table

14. Example of using the Query Wand at the Preposition Table

15. The student maipulates boxes by hand. Placing the black box on the yellow box and releasing it, the student hears: "Kuroi hako wa kiiroi hako no ue ni arimasu." (The black box is on the yellow box.)

16. The student uses the Query Wand to ask questions without the need to speak. Touching one box and then another tells the student the relationship of the first box to the second

17. The student's task is to recreate the model following verbal commands

18. Touching the yellow box, the student hears a command of where to place that box just as can be seen in the model

19. Model building shown with Query Wand