Abstract

Apple Computer makes a music-playing device called the iPod, which has the ability to display foreign (non-English) characters. By putting foreign language vocabulary, dialogues, and readings onto the devices, we can create a portable device that would allow any student, whether or not they owned a computer or had access to the internet, to listen to the audio materials from a language class anywhere, any time, and without restriction. Currently, the Language Learning Center does not have any of these kinds of devices, and in fact does not provide any portable, internet-free way for language students to combine flashcards, audio vocabulary, and dialogue and reading material at all. This proposal would request an initial fifteen iPods for use in the Language Learning Center lab.

Background

The Language Learning Center plays an integral part in providing digital media to students studying foreign languages. It provides audio language-learning materials for any student who wants to improve their listening comprehension of the language they study.

Due to budget considerations, the LLC has not yet had the opportunity to offer students a way to continue their learning experience while away from a computer. As such, the Language Learning Center is interested in acquiring a number of Apple iPods. The iPod combines old-style, handwritten flash cards with audio material to provide a dynamic way to learn new vocabulary. It also provides an easy way for students who do not own computers to listen to assorted dialogues and readings even while away from an internet-connected computer.

Benefits

Students would be able to walk into the LLC and walk out with an iPod full of the language materials for their class. The obvious benefits of listening practice include being able to more quickly absorb material from class, improve the retention of such material, and improve listening and speaking skills. The iPod in particular offers students an easy, portable way to do this without having to work around lab schedules, or worry about the capacity of labs. It provides a more dynamic replacement for traditional flash cards, allowing students to see both the foreign word and the English translation simultaneously.

The iPod also requires very little effort on the part of the LLC staff for maintenance: it already supports all the features listed above, and works flawlessly with both Apple Macintosh computers and PCs. This would enable the LLC to establish the program with little more effort than would be required to record or transform the audio to MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3) format.

Student Access

Students of all language classes would be able to check out the iPods for a period of two weeks, at which point they would have to return the iPod or renew their check out. Students not enrolled in language classes would have the same access. People not currently attending classes at the University of Washington would have to make an appointment with the LLC staff to determine whether they qualified to check out an iPod.

The iPod itself would be "locked," so that students would be prevented from using them for personal music playing, and would be prevented from changing the audio content on them. In order to alter the content on the iPod in any way, the students would be required to solicit the help of a staff member at the Language Learning Center. This would aid both in securing the iPods from theft and protecting copyrighted materials.

Available Resources

Paul Aoki, the director of the LLC, Bob Majors, the Senior Computing Specialist, Duane Blanchard, a Staff Associate for the Asian language department, and Jay Munson, another Staff Associate, have all expressed interest in bringing this project to life. They have expressed the willingness and desire to develop audio materials for the program. We are also working with Apple Computer, Inc. to allow the Language Learning Center staff to develop specialized language software for the iPod. The LLC already has computers available that would allow the staff to do both of these things, as well as maintain the the iPods themselves.

Ethan John, an undergraduate student of the Computer Science and Korean language programs, would be responsible for managing the project. Jay Munson and Duane Blanchard would provide software and audio development.

Installation Timeline

The project will begin upon receiving the initial equipment. The initial audio development will center around the Asian Language programs, particularly Korean and Japanese, because that is where the most professor-level support has come from at this point. Initial deployment and advertisement will begin as soon as audio materials are ready. Audio material development will begin within the next three weeks for other purposes, and will be used in the iPod project as well. Projected time for deployment would be two to three weeks after receiving the devices. The LLC would look forward to expanding the project in the future.

Departmental Endorsement

This proposal has the full support of the professors that have been contacted, including Dr. Soohee Kim of the Korean language department, and Prof. Fumiko Takeda of the Japanese language department. Dr. William Boltz, the chair of the Asian Language and Literature department, has expressed his excitement about such a project, but confesses that he does not understand these matters fully. The staff from the Language Learning center mentioned above, Paul Aoki, Director; Bob Majors, Senior Computing Specialist; Duane Blanchard, Staff Associate; and Jay Munson, Staff Associate, also support the project and would like to begin an initial program, with the possibility of expansion in the future.

Student Endorsement

The LLCs past success in helping students with their listening comprehension implies that a program allowing them to take their learning outside of the basement of Denny Hall, without requiring them to have access to an internet-connected computer, would be very attractive. Preliminary, informal questioning of students in the Japanese language program further suggests that such a program would be very well received.

Items

Below are the items making up the current proposal. The asterisk (*) beside items signify that they were approved by the committee. This however was not implemented correctly for our database before 2005, so earlier years may not show this.

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