Issue #6 - Modern Languages Digital Digest
We welcomed the Chinese Calligraphy class to the Global Languages & Cultures Room this week. It was wonderful to see these carefully created pieces on the glass wall and around the room. Speaking to the students they were proud to celebrate their work and eager to take them home to show friends and family.
From a technology point of view, it was interesting to see the students experiment with writing in VR using TiltBrush, but nothing could match the delicacy and precision of ink on rice paper. The beauty is that we shouldn't drop these methods when adopting technology but enjoy the place where these new tools intersect with more traditional ones.
I wanted to add a few more links around culture and language after last week's tech-heavy offering. These are things I find and hope you will be interested in and might even discuss with your students.
This is the sixth of a series of newsletters providing you with a selection of carefully curated links, resources, and useful information to support technology, teaching, learning, and research in Modern Languages. If you have colleagues elsewhere who might find this newsletter useful then please direct them to the
Over the waves the sun glows, as red as fire;
The spring water flows, as blue as sapphire.
- Dreaming of the South”, by Bai, Juyi (772–846 AD)
Links and Stories
Lieber Hocker is a project launched by zilasaule artists to inspire languages in pictures. You can follow German+other languages account here: lieber_hocker and a newborn Russian account here: lieber_hocker_ru
Interview with the Arabic actor, narrator, and voice actor of Harry Potter, Samaan Ferizali The audiobooks can be downloaded via the Storytel app (android or apple iOS), which also holds stories read in seventeen other languages, including Spanish, Russian, and Italian.
Fascinating article about the new Emperor of Japan, a multi-linguist and environmentalist who will be charged with leading the monarchy into the future. It seems there has been much breaking of tradition in the last few weeks, but much controversy over an all-male succession in a country where still less than 1% of women hold management roles.
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technologies have been around for quite some time, but the past few years have seen their adoption in everyday technologies like smartphones and devices like Alexa and Google Home. This webinar from IALLT at 2 pm on May 14th will examine the role of automated speech recognition (ASR) technology as it relates to the instruction and learning of world languages.
An interesting debate happened when this series of videos was posted on TikTok - a short video app. Whilst some were amazed at the talents of these workers, others noted that many of these skills were honed as a result of low pay, long hours, and fast service. Do we fetishize these skills as culturally exotic or recognize contrasting attitudes to work in different countries?
On Screen
This film explores a day in the life of a typical Japanese office worker. I'm skeptical that most offices have an indoor farm or their own bakery, but this is a fascinating look at some of the customs and culture of office work in Tokyo.
The Beatle’s Blackbird is sung in Mi’kmaq to commemorate the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Please drop us a line if you would like to include a link or let us know about an upcoming event. Thank you for reading and please share and forward this newsletter to those who might find it useful.