Learning another language is hard work, especially as an adult. Over the years there have been many attempts to make learning languages more fun and interesting, but many language experts say the best way to learn a language is to become immersed in it. As such, virtual reality (VR) and its innate immersiveness, seems like a good answer to making language studies more accessible, as as with Samsung Gear VR title The Hacienda.
The Hacienda was created by Busuu, a website, app and social network devoted to providing learning materials for several languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese, among others. Bussu is one of the largest social networks for language learning, providing a range of tools for language learning, some of which are free, some of which must be paid for, which more interactive elements such as video and voice recording only being available to paying members.
The Hacienda concentrates on Spanish, putting the user in a VR environment that resembles a Spanish Hacienda, where the user will engage with a number of tasks such a preparing a meal, or helping decorate for a fiesta. Completing these tasks requires a number of language skills, such as listening comprehension and speaking, with voice recognition being used to identify when the user has spoken the phrases correctly.
The Samsung Gear VR version of The Hacienda is due for release sometime in Autumn 2017, though a precise release date has not been confirmed. It is also not known at this stage what the price point will be.
You can watch a trailer for The Hacienda app below.
VRFocus will bring you further information on The Hacienda as it becomes available.
via Mint VR