September 25th was the graduation ceremony. One student from our lab has graduated. It is Mrs. Li Tang, who conducted development research on a Japanese onomatopoeia learning support system utilizing VR. Including their time as a research student, they worked very hard over the past three years. Since they had conducted research on graphic modeling during their undergraduate years, we decided to try VR research for their Master’s degree, and so they proceeded with development research.
While onomatopoeia are used naturally by Japanese people, they are apparently very difficult for international students. Since they are used frequently in daily life, understanding onomatopoeia leads to smoother communication in Japanese. However, even if one studies them through drills, if they do not understand the emotions upon which the onomatopoeia are based, they will not be able to use them effectively even if they understand the meaning alone. Therefore, Li developed situations in VR where onomatopoeia are evoked, allowing learners to experience the actual situations where those onomatopoeia are used, thereby attempting to support acquisition. The findings are very interesting, including an analysis of the relationship between emotional evocation and acquisition.
Li, T., Geng, X., and Yamada, M. (2024). Emotional Evocation in Virtual Reality: Evaluating Japanese Psych-Mimetic Word Learning System, Proceedings of IEEE ICALT 2024, DOI: 10.1109/ICALT61570.2024.00070
Prior to graduation, Li submitted a paper to a journal, which was a significant goal, and then graduated. In the Yamada Laboratory, we make it a point to submit a paper somewhere before graduation. Whether domestic or international, it is very important to submit the hard work done during the Master’s program to a journal in addition to the Master’s thesis to contribute back to society. Although the results are not yet known, I hope for a good outcome.
Li’s future employer is an IT-related company. Since I was originally at such a company myself, we talked about how to spend time after joining. However, since the Yamada Laboratory is famous for being strict, if Li does not forget the effort, activities, and actions taken here, they will surely be able to do their best. My research guidance aims to foster human resources who can represent themselves proudly anywhere, whether in graduate school or at a company. I encouraged them to do their best and not forget what they have accomplished here.
I wish Mrs.Li all the best and continued success in the future.
