Scaffolded mobile educational game for learning basic communicative Japanese language for non-native speakers / Abdul Jabbar Sahdi

Learning any new language is inevitably difficult. For non-native Japanese Language novices, this inherent difficulty is compounded by the Japanese Language which is not only character-based but in fact having three different type of alphabets, which are Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Kanji was originated from China while both Hiragana and Katakana are derived from Kanji characters. Another issue is the traditional learning of Japanese does not engage these novices. This project aims to design and develop a mobile educational game for learning basic communicative Japanese using scaffolding. Based on the ADDIE development methodology, scaffolding strategies are used and applied to the game which are introduce mechanics one-by-one, make early choices matter less and restrict players' early choices and is developed using Construct 2 game development tool, run and tested on Android mobile devices. The results of a survey of 30 respondents suggested that the game helps the student to increase their understanding of the Japanese Language and the findings revealed that playing the game is an effective medium of learning the Japanese Language. This project can act as a reference point for the developer as the market are lacking in mobile educational game of teaching the Japanese Language. Although minimal words are in the game, but they are sufficient enough for the players to start a conversation to the native speakers.