Promoting Language Exchange in DU

[CyberCrunch]

I’ve had an idea for a while, but I’m actually not sure if such activities would work out in a competitive game like DU...

Heck I’ll just DU it! Let’s see what you think of my proposal:

 

A problem when learning a new language is to find native speakers to practice by actually speaking the language.

Since DU will bring players from all around the world together, this could be a perfect opportunity for a language exchange.

 

Of course most players will be very engaged in the work with their own orgs, but sometimes there may be some spare time for other activities. Especially as there will be a lots of grinding in DU. I mean even when NQ is trying to make resource gathering more interesting, it’s essentially just about digging holes for hours.

During these monotone activities of the game you could join a voice chat with a native speaker of a foreign language and practice with him. (essentially what platforms like hellotalk.com, sharedlingo.com, ect. are providing)

You could do some vocabulary exercises, play some language learning games, or even do a discussion about DU in a foreign language.

 

Now what could we do to further promote this in DU:

 

1) I highly encourage organizations operating in the native language of their members, which have come up a lot lately! We could create a list of all non English orgs to provide a “language map” of Alioth. Players could use this to find speakers of their own language, or where to go to improve their foreign language skills. This should work like a language exchange travel guide.

 

2) We could also provide a platform to bring different language learners together. You would be able to search for people that are willing to teach language A, and learning language B.

e.g. someone speaking German who’s learning Spanish would want to find someone speaking Spanish learning German.

We could create jet another discord server dedicated to that, however it’s probably better to use platforms like hellotalk which have much better features, as they are especially designed for that purpose!

 

3) Furthermore we could create a nonprofit organization in DU dedicated to promote language exchange. This would probably not work like a normal org as, would not participate in claiming resources/land or military. But we could build a "language exchange forum" close to the arkship, to inform other players about this project.

If the org-mechanics are flexible enough we could use sub-orgs to better organize different language groups. E.g. a sub-org “Spanish learners” could get together to organize weekly Spanish classes.

If this becomes popular enough we could even create language exams, to check people’s language proficiency level.

 

I would be very happy if we could gather some interested people to develop this further, but honestly I would probably not be the best person to actually lead this project due to my inconsistent on-time... I’m just a guy interested in learning more languages, and it would be awesome if there would be a platform that combines language learning with gaming. xD

[huschhusch]

English (Translator used)

 

Hello CyberCrunch,
Learning languages is always a good idea, in the case of DU it is English. I myself am diligent in practicing.
DU is not a common language game, so "HelloTalk" is better.
The language groups such as "Sammelbecken" are primarily for the purpose of coordinating more precisely and more quickly with equal-ling players and not for example learning German.

I hope there will be in the future an automatic translation in the game and forum.

 

 

German (orginal)

 

Hallo CyberCrunch,

Sprachen lernen ist immer eine gute Idee, im Falle von DU halt englisch. Ich selbst bin fleißig am üben.

DU ist aber kein allgemeines Sprachlernspiel, daher ist "HelloTalk" dafür besser.

Die Sprachgruppen wie "Sammelbecken" sind in erster Line dafür um sich exakter und schneller mit gleichsprachigen Spielern zu koordinieren und nicht um zum Beispiel deutsch zu lernen.

Ich hoffe es wird irgendwann eine automatische Übersetzung im Spiel und im Forum geben.

 

mfG Die Waldfee

[Lethys]

Good idea,

I would be interested as a member but since I'm doing enough stuff already, I can't help organize anything

[Fitorion]

I like FFXI and FFXIV's systems for multi language communication.  I just wish they'd be expanded on.

 

Their system is:

They have a list of game related words and phrases which they have translated into all the languages they officially support.

 

You access them simply by starting to type in the chat dialog and pressing tab.  This brings up a list of possible words and phrases based off what you started typing. You select the phrase you want and hit enter.

 

The text then appears to anyone else viewing it in the language they've set as default in their game client. 

 

 

If the list of words and phrases is updated periodically with the terms and phrases most used by people in game to organize parties and tell others where to go... what to do... and the predictive system works to pull up relevant options to what you've started typing...

 

Then such a system can be used to effectively organize a multilingual group.

[Lord_Void]

Great idea. I've thought about things like this before, but never personally pursued it. I would be happy to participate for anyone trying to learn English, and would be interested in practicing my Spanish and French. 

 

Sadly, I have a lot of other things going on and can't help organize it.

[CyberCrunch]

Thanks for all the feedback.
I posted this topic to discuss my thoughts on how improving real world language skills could work in DU. So I should probably clarify that these 3 possibilities I mentioned are actually very different approaches to learn a language:

1) This is more like visiting a foreign country: you just try to integrate yourself in the daily life and participate in normal activities with other people without any direct lessons. (works only if you are already able to speak the foreign language quite fluently)

2) Just 1 on 1 language exchange. This approach would depend on the participating people: you could do exercises to learn the basics, but also do normal everyday conversations to practice speaking fluently.

3) For this suggestion the goal is to create a sort of language school system where you would organize lessons to learn with multiple people together.

 

These are just the possibilities I that came to my mind. We could easily organize these things “on demand”, based on how many people want to learn a certain language. If there are only 2-3 people, we could just add each other on hellotalk and do a 1 on 1 exchange. If we get 10 people together we could form a class… and so on.
To get this started: I am fluent in Italian, German, and English (and already have basic knowledge of Spanish, and Chinese (I also did Latin in school = huge waste of time -.-)
I’d like to learn Spanish, Chinese, (and i currently have growing interest in French)

 

@huschhusch Of course most orgs are focused on actually playing DU, but here’s an example situation: a fellow student of mine from Peru is currently learning German. Would you (hypothetically) welcome him to your "Sammelbecken", even if he would need to ask for a word every now and then?
I just hope there will be a more open atmosphere towards other players in the game. In the end we will all walk around on the same planet.

@Fitorion I think it would be quite useful to implement a google-translate function into the chat, but I'm against the use of sample phrases as this only limits the conversation.
In the end English should always stay the lingua franca which everyone should understand without the need for translators. (I mean it’s even a mandatory subject in schools of every major country)

 

[huschhusch]

English (Translator used)

 

Hello CyberCrunch,

With the language school as an organization I find a good idea, since you can register and make an appointment.

Language schoolchildren in "Sammelbecken" is also an interesting idea to get practice in German.
A marking of the pupils would be for me however obligation to generate no frustration with the other members.

In the German forum "Koalition" (link at Sammelbecken) one can already practice.

 

 

German (orginal)

 

Hallo CyberCrunch,

das mit der Sprachschule als Organisation finde ich eine gute Idee, da kann man sich anmelden und verabreden.

 

Sprachschüler in "Sammelbecken" ist auch eine interessante Idee, um Praxis in deutsch zu bekommen.

Eine Kennzeichnung der Schüler wäre für mich aber Pflicht um keinen Frust bei den anderen Mitgliedern zu erzeugen.

 

Im deutschen Forum "Koalition" (Link bei Sammelbecken) kann man ja schon mal üben.

 

mfG Die Waldfee

[Kuritho]

I want to learn Russian so I can properly communicate with CSGO players.

And read the Metro + STALKER series.