ARbis Pictus: A Study of Vocabulary Learning with Augmented Reality

Abstract

We conducted a fundamental user study to assess potential benefits of AR technology for immersive vocabulary learning. With the idea that AR systems will soon be able to label real-world objects in any language in real time, our within-subjects (N=52) lab-based study explores the effect of such an AR vocabulary prompter on participants learning nouns in an unfamiliar foreign language, compared to a traditional flashcard-based learning approach. Our results show that the immersive AR experience of learning with virtual labels on real-world objects is both more effective and more enjoyable for the majority of participants, compared to flashcards. Specifically, when participants learned through augmented reality, they scored significantly better on both same-day and 4-day delayed productive recall tests than when they learned using the flashcard method. We believe this result is an indication of the strong potential for language learning in augmented reality, particularly because of the improvement shown in sustained recall compared to the traditional approach.

Augmented Reality for Early Language Learning: A Systematic Review of Augmented Reality Application Design, Instructional Strategies, and Evaluation Outcomes

“…That is, augmented content is triggered by specific large-scale real-world scenes (e.g., desk surfaces or buildings; Ho et al., 2017; Lee et al., 2017), or small-scaled everyday objects placed in the environment (e.g., garbage can, table, cup; Hsu, 2017; A. Ibrahim et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2016). For example, in the UL-IAR application, learners received a set of real-time English quizzes in real-life contexts based on the GPS positioning function (Ho et al., 2017).…”

“…In the ARbis Pictus , learners saw the augmented words on top of the 3D objects through a head-mounted display (A. Ibrahim et al., 2018).…”

“…Three applications directly augmented real-world scenes (Ho et al., 2017; Lee et al., 2017), while the other six augmented everyday objects (A. Ibrahim et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2016).…”

Augmented Reality Game (ARG), 21st century skills and ESL classroom

“…35). Furthermore, Ibrahim et al (2017) mentioned that "Another possible benefit to learning in the AR condition is that it can facilitate the so-called "memory palace' technique" (para. 32).…”

Trends and Research Issues of Augmented Reality Studies in Architectural and Civil Engineering Education—A Review of Academic Journal Publications

“…With advancements in technology and support, the development of AR systems has become much easier. AR is being applied to education, and has led to impressive results [14][15][16][17][18]. Research on the use of AR in education has increased steadily and offers great insights into learning and teaching [19].…”