The York Seminar is conducting research on the potential of games and play in educational contexts and society. The project was proposed by OGISHIMA Kazuhiko and MIWA Yuka (4th-year students), the first-generation members of the Seminar, and the event was held with the cooperation of Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute.
OGISHIMA and MIWA planned and developed a game that enables learners of Japanese to learn the use of onomatopoeic words, such as wakuwaku and shin, which is difficult for learners, in a fun way. In the card game, which has been created with the advice of Mr. TOYAMA Akihiko, president of Dig-A-Doo K.K., players use gestures and words to express an onomatopoeic word, and other players guess the word, which makes the game easy to use for educational institutions.
At the beginning, Senior Assistant Professor YORK gave a lecture on onomatopoeia, followed by the gesture game in small groups. Before and after the game, participants took tests on onomatopoeia, and data to measure the effectiveness of the game were collected.
Lecture on onomatopoeia by Senior Assistant Professor YORK
After the class, Senior Assistant Professor YORK said, “Such research is an ideal example of our seminar activities and will serve as a model for future students.” OGISHIMA, who produced the idea for the project, looked back on the event and said, “We focused on combining the fun of learning through a game with useful learning. Through the event, I was able to realize the effect a game can have.” MIWA, who produced the idea with OGISHIMA, said, “I’ve been doing a lot of research on the theme of having fun learning. I was happy to see the significance of the game that we have created through excitement at the venue and the test results.”
Mr. TOYAMA, president of Dig-A-Doo K.K., commented, “I realized the depth of play and learning once again by watching students repeatedly improve the way of playing in their research, which was an opportunity for growth for me too.” Ms. SUDA, a teacher at Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute, said, “I was impressed by the lively faces of the participants. I want to reflect today’s experience in future classes.”
Students playing the card game