Personal Informatics for In-Context Language Learning

Motivation for the Project

Traditionally, much of the time spent learning a new language has consisted of reading and writing on paper. However, many people who are in the process of learning a new language now experience much of the content in that language via their web browser - visiting foreign-language web sites as well as reading and writing emails, chat messages, and other documents in their new language. However, this kind of in-context language learning isn't very well supported by existing translation tools like Google Translate. These tools aren't integrated very well into existing workflows for reading and writing, and can even impede learning because users end up translating whole documents rather than working out words and phrases for themselves. This project would focus on building tools that supports in-context translation and allows language learners to visualize and track their progress as they learn a language.

Goals of the Project

We have already developed a simple tool that allows users to hover over words or phrases on any web page to see them translated in-context, into another language (either from a foreign language to a known one or visa-versa). Building on this basic functionality, we will explore extensions that allow language learners to visualize and track their progress in order to focus their in-context learning. This includes:

• Building embedded visualizations that highlight key terms and phrases within web pages and provide feedback on their frequency and importance.
• Designing and developing visual personal informatics tools that facilitate reflection and support the learning process.

Requirements

• The visualizations will be implemented using JavaScript, D3, and web technologies.
• Communication for this project will be in English.