I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T
I mention all this because, when it comes to EdTech, it’ s crucial to evaluate what works best for the people choosing to learn with you rather than jump on the latest bandwagon.
That’ s not to say that language learning hasn’ t massively benefitted from developments in EdTech – in particular the way in which educational content can be tailored to people’ s learning strengths.
For instance, research shows we’ re generally better at remembering
Richard Howeson, Chairman, uTalk
visual rather than written information and, in the same way, we also tend to be better at remembering spoken words and phrases when they’ re linked to a picture. So our app, for example, uses a picture of someone pouring a cup of coffee next to audio of‘ I’ d like a coffee, please’ in whatever language you’ re learning. It’ s a learning technique called‘ dual-coding’.
It also seems likely that, in the future, this technique will be further developed so that learners can use Augmented Reality( AR) headsets or an AR device experience to‘ see’ or personally interact with a visual representation of the word or phrase they’ re learning – alongside audio of the word or phrase. It’ s likely to make for lasting memories.
Another way that technology has impacted on language learning is the ease with which developers can now use interactive apps to help people learn by playing games.
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