Learning Experience Design: The Talking Dictionary
Audience
English/Afrikaan speaking parents and children in South Africa who want to learn an Africaan Language (Northern Sotho)
Responsibilities
Learning experience design, curriculum design in partnership with Briza Publications (https://briza.co.za), project management, facilitator guide, visual & document design
Tools Used
Callfinder®, Classting (LMS platform), PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Canva
Problem
Northern Sotho is mostly spoken in the North-Eastern parts of South Africa, used by approximately 9% of South Africans. After a virtual interview with a group of South African parents, our instructional design team identified a need for an extracurricular program that teaches Northern Sotho to students.
The “Talking Dictionary” program aims to motivate Afrikaans parents and children in South Africa to see the value in being able to communicate with native black people in their mother tongue language. Children who master a language spoken in their area will be able to communicate with mother-tongue speakers, which will open doors for them in their professional life and break cultural barriers in future social contexts.
What is the Talking Dictionary?
by. Suzan – one of the team members in this project
This learning design project was undertaken in partnership with Briza Publications (https://briza.co.za), allowing the use of their tool called the Talking Dictionary. The Talking Dictionary is an audiovisual language tool that incorporates Callfinder® technology. It enables users to listen to the pronunciation of terms and phrases in different languages by tapping the book illustrations with the pen-shaped Callfinder® device. Unlike other e-books that rely on mobile devices to play sounds, the Talking Dictionary tool does not require any devices. Instead, it provides users with an immersive language learning experience while limiting screen time. The Callfinder® not only provides the pronunciation of words but also incorporates sound effects such as animal calls and musical excerpts to enhance understanding and language acquisition.
Solution
Based on the cognitive apprenticeship learning theory and naturalistic language learning theory, our team designed a hybrid 7-week language program for parents and students to learn Northern Sotho. It is a hybrid training that consists of an in-person technology-enhanced program with the Talking Dictionary Callfinder® and an online program within the LMS.
Once the course begins, facilitators and parents (or any other guardians) will have access to a comprehensive 35-page Facilitator & Parent’s Guide and Design Document. These documents provide detailed information, including lesson plans, resource lists, an LMS guide, anticipated student actions, formative and summative evaluation plans, and more. To facilitate effective communication within the learning community and monitor students’ progress, the program incorporated an LMS platform called Classting. This platform enables facilitators to efficiently interact with participants and track their learning journey.
Design Document
Facilitator Guide