H indi W ordnet for Language Teaching: Experiences and Lessons Learnt (2018)

Abstract: This paper reports the work related to making Hindi Wordnet1 available as a digital resource for language learning and teaching, and the experiences and lessons that were learnt during the process. The language data of the Hindi Wordnet has been suitably modified and enhanced to make it into a language learning aid. This aid is based on modern pedagogical axioms and is aligned to the learning objectives of the syllabi of the school education in India. To make it into a comprehensive language tool, grammatical information has also been encoded, as far as these can be marked on the lexical items. The delivery of information is multi-layered, multi-sensory and is available across multiple digital platforms. The front end has been designed to offer an eye-catching user-friendly interface which is suitable for learners starting from age six onward. Preliminary testing of the tool has been done and it has been modified as per the feedbacks that were received. Above all, the entire exercise has offered gainful insights into learning based on associative networks and how knowledge based on such networks can be made available to modern learners.

## introduction a wordnet is a large digital lexical database of a language in which information is organised around cognitive synonym sets or synsets @xcite . the underlying basis of such organization are the word association studies in psycholinguistics, which proved that our mental lexicon is structured on associations, i.e. an appear-1 http://www.cfilt.iitb.ac.in/wordnet/webhwn/index.php ance of one entity entails the appearance of the other in the mind. thus, it was found that subjects respond quicker than normal to the word 'nurse' if it follows a highly associated word such as 'doctor' @xcite . this property of the mental lexicon is structurally built in the wordnets and manifests itself in the lexical and semantic relations which are encoded in it. thus, a wordnet is a ready resource of vocabulary of a language, which captures associative learning in its structure. conventional sources of vocabulary learning, such as the dictionaries and thesauri, do not have these relations due to the very nature of their composition. this is the motivation to present hindi wordnet as a tool for vocabulary learning and teaching. the second motivation is the fact that education is undergoing rapid digitalization. innovative instruction techniques, which can cater to the tenets of anywhere, anytime, any size learning, flipped classroom approach and blended learning environments, are the need of the hour. such technology based learning solutions can help in better learner engagement in classrooms and can also be used in informal teaching-learning environments, as the delivery of knowledge is in a multi-sensory mode and is available across various digital platforms. in the form of a digital resource, the language learning aid that is presented here also seeks to redress the long standing problem of the burden of the school bag of young learners in india. this pedagogical application of hindi wordnet will address all the above issues and provide a resource which will cater to the various gap areas of learning. the rest of the paper is organized as follows: section 2 provides the related work. section 3 discusses the need for association capturing in language learning, which provides the basis for using wordnet as a language learning resource. section 4 presents the digital aid developed for hindi language teaching and learning. section 5 discusses the process, experiences and lessons learnt while developing this aid. section 6 briefs the field test and user feedback followed by conclusion and future work in section 7. ## related work in digital educational technology, the literature shows that psychological aspects of language learning has been explored under various conditions due to continuous advancements on the technological front. the research indicates that multimodal learning has always resulted in better retention @xcite . when the information enters the system through various senses, it helps the brain to circumvent the limited processing capabilities of each individual senses and allows for greater total information to be processed @xcite . with technology in place, the ease of multi-modal learning environments have been studied in different settings @xcite @xcite . mobile assisted language learning (mall) is also being explored as mobile technologies are becoming an integral part of lifestyle. the findings @xcite show that mall has not reached its potential and it is moving towards being the new stage of computer assisted language learning (call). pedagogical experts have stressed on the need for improving various approaches to enhance the willingness of the learners for self-directed technology to maximize the technology potential for language learning @xcite . the use of gamification is seen as an effective pedagogical strategy which can engage and motivate the learner to learn in a relaxed environment, which is fundamental to any learning @xcite . in language learning, using semantic network relations for learning new word helps in better understanding of its meaning @xcite . the wordnet, a semantic based rich lexical resource, has been used for various language learning applications such as -the semantic and lexical relations between synsets enables the learners to know the connotations of a word along with its various possible contexts @xcite . a gamification system based on wordnet was used to assess the depth of word knowledge of a learner @xcite . a system was experimented for similar looking and near synonyms word learning based on wordnet for english language learners @xcite . ## a digital aid for hindi language teaching and learning in order to employ association capturing in learning and to cater to the needs of rapid digitization of education, the vast lexical database of hindi wordnet has been transformed for pedagogical purpose in the form of an e-learning tool -hindi shabdamitra foot_0 . in this tool, hindi wordnet data is modified / simplified and further augmented with audiovisual features and grammatical properties, and is presented in a learner-friendly format for language teaching and learning. depending upon the understanding level of a user and the purpose of use, this digital aid follows the selective information presentation approach. henceforth, in this paper, this elearning tool will be referred as digital aid. ## process, experiences and lessons learnt as a part of the effort to align the project with the school education in india, the following key activities have been performed. the process, experiences and lessons learnt have been recorded here: ## field test and user feedback the prototype of the digital aid was initially demonstrated in three local schools. two schools were following the cbse board curriculum where students were learning hindi as primary language from class 1 onwards. the other school was following the curriculum of the state board 10 where students from class 5 were learning hindi for the first time as a second language. the feedback was sought from primary language learners as well as second language learners for content, ease of handling the application, classroom impact and overall experience by teachers and students. it was observed that the digital aid helped teachers in explaining concepts clearly with the help of images and simplified concepts even for primary language learner. it was also noticed that class 5 students 10 https://mahahsscboard.maharashtra.gov.in from the state board easily understood the concepts though they were learning hindi for the first time. the aid assisted teachers in better classroom management, especially with the help of illustrations and reduced effort of reiterating the concepts for better retention and having the standardized pronunciation by native hindi speakers. the application has been improved based on the feedback received. some of the suggested changes were viz., include spelling variations, give additional grammatical features, provide english word, etc. accordingly, the suggested changes were implemented. the presented digital aid is now ready for the next round of field trials. ## conclusion and future work the paper presents how a lexically rich resource like hindi wordnet is suitably modified and enhanced for developing a digital aid for language teaching and learning. the digital aid presented here is a multi-modal multi-layered hindi language learning aid which can be used for formal and informal learning environments such as schools and non-government organizations involved in education. while developing this digital aid, the process followed, the experiences earned, the challenges faced and the lessons learnt are recorded in this paper. the digital aid has been tested successfully during field trials and the work has been appreciated by teachers and students. with the help of this aid a better understanding and retention of concepts has been achieved, which is helped in a large way by illustrations and clear pronunciations. this has led to better classroom management and increased interest in leaning. in future, digital aid can be expanded to the other indian languages. gamification and evaluation techniques will be incorporated.