Maparin: Creating a friendly and adaptable learning scenario for foreign students in Taiwan

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a mobile App called Maparin. It has been designed to facilitate foreign students enrolled in National Tsing Hua University (NTHU, Taiwan) while adapting to this Chinese speaking environment. Focused on providing complementary learning material in addition to regular Mandarin course training, the App leads foreign students to their desired restaurant to undertake Chinese learning and social interaction with locals in a real-life context. With the built-in GPS and Augmented Reality (AR) display, students equipped with iPad App have the ability to decide when and where to acquire essential Chinese language knowledge in informal settings. In addition, an embedded Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) assessment system allows foreign students to learn the authentic pronunciation of daily meals in Taiwan. Moreover, a group of foreign students have been selected for system testing and evaluation. The experimental result shows that food ordering and campus restaurant locating via Maparin is much more efficient and satisfying for the foreign students.