Word Games Research Articles

Playing Codenames with Language Graphs and Word Embeddings

Although board games and video games have been studied for decades in artificial intelligence research, challenging word games remain relatively unexplored. Word games are not as constrained as games like chess or poker. Instead, word game strategy is defined by the players’ understanding of the way words relate to each other. The word game Codenames provides a unique opportunity to investigate common sense understanding of relationships between words, an important open challenge. We propose an algorithm that can generate Codenames clues from the language graph BabelNet or from any of several embedding methods – word2vec, GloVe, fastText or BERT. We introduce a new scoring function that measures the quality of clues, and we propose a weighting term called DETECT that incorporates dictionary-based word representations and document frequency to improve clue selection. We develop BabelNet-Word Selection Framework (BabelNetWSF) to improve BabelNet clue quality and overcome the computational barriers that previously prevented leveraging language graphs for Codenames. Extensive experiments with human evaluators demonstrate that our proposed innovations yield state-of-the-art performance, with up to 102.8% improvement in precision@2 in some cases. Overall, this work advances the formal study of word games and approaches for common sense language understanding.

THE EFFECT OF TABOO WORD GAME IN IMPROVING VOCABULARY ABILITY

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Taboo Word Game strategy on students vocabulary ability. The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of Taboo Word Game strategy had effect on students’ vocabulary ability. The study used research by doing experimental design. The population of this study was 60 Informatics Engineering students of Potensi Utama University in the fourth semester of 2019-2020 Academic Year. A placement test was given to 60 students. 60 students were taken as the sample of this research. The sample was divided into two groups: the first group is the Taboo Word Game group (30 students) and the second group is conventional group (30 students). The instrument of collecting the data was vocabulary test. The writer used independent sample t test formula to analyse the data. The data were calculate by using independent sample t test by SPSS 20 for windows. The result of the analysis shows that tcount > ttable = 3,941 < 2,66329 is higher at the level of significance 0.05 and the degree of freedom (df) 58. Therefore, the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.

Android interactive word game in mother tongue for early childhood learners

As ownership of mobile devices increases, the trend in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education also advances. In line with the mandate of the department of education to develop interactive strategies, this study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate an android interactive word game in Mother Tongue on the level of acceptability of the system based on content, instructional quality, technical quality, presentation and organization, and accuracy and up-to-dateness to address the gap for interactive mobile learning. This study used developmental and quasi-experimental research. The first phase of the study used developmental research to design, develop, and evaluate the acceptability of the android word game. The second phase of the study used quasi-experimental to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed android word game on the pupils' academic performance in mother tongue. The evaluation of the information technology (IT) experts resulted to a very acceptable rating for the android interactive word game, which was observed to be effective based on the higher post-test mean score or higher mean score of the pupils in the spelling skills after their exposure to the android interactive word game.

Speech acting with names. On a pragmatic foundation of the theory of proper names

AbstractUp to now, proper names are mainly seen as linguistic signs with some special systemic features. This paper wants to show that there are other possibilities to approach the theory of names. They can be seen as symbols used in a speech act, which means that every utterance of a name represents a single speech act of namegiving, even with those names, which are already known by the partners of communication. A name is what is accepted as a name in a language community. This tautology is not just a word game, but situates a proper name in the system of speech acts at the moment of communication.

Developing Adaptive Serious Games for Children With Specific Learning Difficulties: A Two-phase Usability and Technology Acceptance Study.

BackgroundSpecific learning difficulties (SpLD) include several disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, and the children with these SpLD receive special education. However, the studies and the educational material so far focus mainly on one specific disorder.ObjectiveThis study’s primary goal is to develop comprehensive training material for different types of SpLD, with five serious games addressing different aspects of the SpLD. The second focus is measuring the impact of adaptive difficulty level adjustment in the children’s and their educators’ usability and technology acceptance perception. Receiving feedback from the children and their educators, and refining the games according to their suggestions have also been essential in this two-phase study.MethodsA total of 10 SpLD educators and 23 children with different types of SpLD tested the prototypes of the five serious games (ie, Word game, Memory game, Category game, Space game, and Math game), gave detailed feedback, answered the System Usability Scale and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaires, and applied think-aloud protocols during game play.ResultsThe games’ standard and adaptive versions were analyzed in terms of average playtime and the number of false answers. Detailed analyses of the interviews, with word clouds and player performances, were also provided. The TAM questionnaires’ average and mean values and box plots of each data acquisition session for the children and the educators were also reported via System Usability Scale and TAM questionnaires. The TAM results of the educators had an average of 8.41 (SD 0.87) out of 10 in the first interview and an average of 8.71 (SD 0.64) out of 10 in the second interview. The children had an average of 9.07 (SD 0.56) out of 10 in the first interview.ConclusionsBoth the educators and the children with SpLD enjoyed playing the games, gave positive feedback, and suggested new ways for improvement. The results showed that these games provide thorough training material for different types of SpLD with personalized and tailored difficulty systems. The final version of the proposed games will become a part of the special education centers’ supplementary curriculum and training materials, making new enhancements and improvements possible in the future.

Estetika Sebagai Motivasi Pelisanan dalam Mabebasan di Bali

Research on aesthetics as a motivation for memorizing the oral of mabebasan in Bali uses a qualitative approach. Data collection uses the methods of reading and listening to parwa, kakawin, kidung, and geguritan when mabebasan activity takes place. Mabebasan is a traditional sound art that functions to accompany ceremonies and also as entertainment. The method of analysis was carried out with a qualitative conceptual using descriptive-analytic techniques based on the working stages of the semiotic theory which correlates with the theory of needs motivation. The result of the analysis is presented using informal method with systematic and structured explanations as well as the formal method. The result of the research provide the answer that aesthetics in the form of sound game, word game, meaning game, language style (stylistics/ alamkara), and art sound are the motivators for oral (mabebasan). The existence of stylistics / alamkara is sung with melodious and chanting rhythms as well as the value causing the memorization of the oral in mabebasan.

O perskim oku i o tym, co naprawdę jest perskie w polskich konstrukcjach frazeologicznych

The subject of the article are certain idiomatic expressions constructed with the adjective perski (‘Persian’) in Polish: perskie oko (‘Persian eye’), perski dywan (‘Persian carpet’), perski proszek (‘Persian powder’) etc. Moreover, the author attempts to answer the question: What do we have that is really Persian in Polish? Are these phrases really related to Persia or Persians, or are they just a word game (homophones)? So far the origin of the most popular one, i.e. perskie oko (‘Persian eye’) has not been established even though a lively discussion on this subject was held on the pages of the Język Polski 90 years ago. It was started by Stanisław Szober who in his book Życie wyrazów, explained the origin of the phrase perskie oko for the first time, indicating that it is a semantic borrowing from French, and its basis is l’œil perçant ‘piercing eye’. In response, Józef Birkenmajer claimed this popular phrase comes from Krakow, relating it – quite incredibly – to a Persian man on the label of the popular Zacherlin insecticide powder called perski proszek (‘Persian powder’). It turns out that the source of this expression was a French anecdote by Alphonse Karr from the late nineteenth century based precisely on the word game.

Take Your Word or Tone for It? European American and Chinese Children's Attention to Emotional Cues in Speech.

Cultural experiences can influence how people attend to different emotional cues. Whereas semantic content explicitly describes feelings, vocal tone conveys implicit information regarding emotions. This cross-cultural study examined children's attention to emotional cues in spoken words. The sample consisted of 121 European American (EA) and 120 Chinese children (4-9years old). Each child played two computer games in which they listened to spoken words and judged the pleasantness of either the word meaning (Word game) or the vocal tone (Tone game) while ignoring the other aspect. Chinese children paid more spontaneous attention to vocal tones and less to word meanings than did EA children. These findings shed critical light on the role of culture in shaping affective cognitive processes during development.

Designing a Digital Assistant for Developing a Life Plan

ABSTRACT Self-determination is a universal right and a central concept in support processes for people with disabilities. Enabling a disabled person to make choices, and to have a life plan not influenced by the entourage, are major challenges. In this context, the aims of the present study are: 1) To design and develop a digital assistant for the elaboration of a life plan that is easily usable by future users (adapted to the cognitive characteristics of people with Down Syndrome (DS); 2) Assess the impact of the use of this assistant on the life plan, autonomy, and quality of life of people with DS. The design process resulted in the development of a mock-up, two prototypes and the final version. Each version has been evaluated (user scenarios to evaluate objective usability and SUS scale and QUEST 2.0 to assess subjective usability and user satisfaction) and improved taking into account the comments from the previous step (37 adults with DS in total). Results confirm the relevance of the improvements made between the different versions and provide a final version offering a high degree of usability. The second objective was to assess the ability of the assistant (final version) to improve the life plan and the autonomy of such people. Evaluations were carried out on 9 adults (5 using the assistant and 4 control subjects who used a computer-based word game, during the same period) using questionnaires relating to the life plan, autonomy, and quality of life of the users. After one month of using the assistant, a positive impact was observed (compared to the control group) on the richness of the life plan and on the person’s autonomy using the Ryff psychological well-being scales.

미국 국립공원 주니어레인저 워크북 특성 및 국내 지형교육에의 시사점

Junior Ranger is a self-directed interpretation program for young visitors at national parks in the United States. The success of this program can be largely attributed to the role of an activity book which is given an applicant free of charge at a visitor center. This study aims to analyze the main characteristics of activity books for 14 national parks’ Junior Ranger and to draw some implications for Korean geomorphological education. Although the activity books are varied in size, volume and printing, all of them offer diverse activities which are composed of different contents related to park resources in four fields and are performed in different ways such as Q&A, picture and word game, and creative activity. The timeconsuming activities including attendance at a ranger-led program prevent the participant from making a superficial visit to be a junior ranger. The implications of the study are as follows: Firstly, the geomorphological education for children is needed to be strongly based on field experience learning and to be more carried out using a way of game rather than conventional Q&A, suggesting that it encourages students not to lose their interest for learning. Secondly, it is also necessary for the learning contents to be focused on various resources related to landform as well as landform itself. In addition, a creative activity such as writing verse or drawing feeling should be more applied to the geomorphological education in order to enhance their effects on affective domain beyond cognitive one. It is likely to be an alternative approach to understand landform by internalizing a sense of landform.

The Effectiveness of Arranging Word Game In Teaching Grammar: An Evidence From VIII Grade Students of SMPN 2 Simpang Alahan Mati, Indonesia

The aim of this research was to know how the students’ ability in arranging word into a sentence of simple present tense and effectiveness of Arranging Word Game in teaching simple present tense at VIII Grade Students of SMPN 2 Simpang Alahan Mati. The researcher found some problems that related to arranging word game which was used by English teacher. The first problem was English teacher has been applied and used Arranging Word Game in teaching simple present tense, but some students still had difficulties in arranging word into a sentence. The second problem was some students often forgot with the structure of the sentence which was taught before such as the structure of simple present tense and the students’ mark was somewhat varied which 65% of the students were considered to have poor achievement. The third problem was some students still could not make sentence such as arranging word into a good sentence and could not understand the material well. This research used a descriptive quantitative research. The population of this research was all students at VIII Grade of SMP N 2 Simpang Alahan Mati where it consisted of two classes which were VIII.1 and VIII.2. In this research, the researcher used total sampling as a sampling technique and the total of sample was 65 students of VIII Grade students. The instruments that were used in this research were test and questionnaire. Based the result of this research, it was concluded that students’ ability in mastering simple present tense at VIII Grade Students of SMPN 2 Simpang Alahan Mati was very good category where the mean of students’ test result was 88,06 on the rating scale 80-100 which was on the very good category. Furthermore, Arranging Word game was effective to be used in teaching simple present tense at VIII Grade Student of SMPN 2 Simpang Alahan Mati where it was gotten from the mean data percentage of students’ questionnaire result which was 77,06% on the percentage of rating scale on 72-89% which it was effective on rating quality.

Types (Disinformation)

Types (Disinformation)

The Home Learning Environment in the Digital Age-Associations Between Self-Reported "Analog" and "Digital" Home Learning Environment and Children's Socio-Emotional and Academic Outcomes.

We analyzed the association between the analog and the digital home learning environment (HLE) in toddlers’ and preschoolers’ homes, and whether both aspects are associated with children’s social and academic competencies. Here, we used data of the national representative sample of Growing up in Germany II, which includes 4,914 children aged 0–5 years. The HLE was assessed via parental survey that included items on the analog HLE (e.g., playing word games, reading, and counting) and items on the digital HLE (e.g., using apps or playing with apps). Children’s socio-emotional, practical life skills, and academic competencies were assessed via standardized parental ratings. Our results indicate that there are two dimensions of the HLE, an analog and a digital, that are slightly positively associated, especially in the toddler age group. For toddlers, only analog HLE activities were associated with better socio-emotional outcomes and practical life skills. However, interaction effects indicate that toddlers with less frequent analog HLE activities showed better socio-emotional skills in households with more frequent digital activities. For preschoolers, digital HLE activities were associated with weaker socio-emotional skills but higher academic skills, although the analog HLE shows higher effect sizes for the academic outcomes. Our study points out that analog and digital HLE activities seem to be partly associated, but not interchangeable. Further, they seem to be important variables that can explain individual differences in young children’s socio-emotional, practical life, and academic competencies. However, digital media usage at home may also have negative effects on children’s social–emotional competencies. This association needs to be investigated further.

American Snobs: Transatlantic Novelists, Liberal Culture and the Genteel Tradition

American Snobs: Transatlantic Novelists, Liberal Culture and the Genteel Tradition

Clasificaciones y percepciones asociadas al conocimiento de la leña utilizada en una comunidad rural del Chaco Seco (Catamarca, Argentina)

Antecedentes y Objetivos: La leña constituye una de las principales fuentes de energía de las poblaciones rurales en diversos ambientes y ecosistemas alrededor del mundo. Es una prioridad establecer, desde la mirada local, los principales conjuntos de saberes y percepciones vinculados al uso de este recurso dendroenergético, definiendo los principales términos y categorías relacionados con la leña utilizada en la Sierra de Ancasti, Provincia de Catamarca, Argentina. Métodos: A partir de la técnica “bola de nieve” y por medio de entrevistas abiertas y semiestructuradas en 46 unidades familiares, caminatas guiadas, recolección de ejemplares botánicos, trabajo de herbario y revisión de la literatura, se establecieron las principales percepciones asociadas al uso y conocimiento de especies de leñas. Para obtener las categorías locales de clasificación y términos vernáculos asociados a la leña se propone un “juego de palabras”. Por medio de un diagrama de conjuntos y un Análisis de Componentes Principales (ACP) se identificaron las agrupaciones de especies según las categorías, los términos y las definiciones locales. Resultados clave: Los pobladores señalaron, a partir de 74 nombres comunes, a 53 especies de plantas leñosas que corresponden a 45 géneros y 23 familias botánicas. Destaca el alto porcentaje de especies de origen nativo (74%). En 456 menciones, para 40 especies, se registraron 25 términos relacionados con las propiedades de la madera de las plantas vinculadas con la combustión y el fuego. Los términos más usados por los pobladores para describir y clasificar la leña son: “fuerte” (52 menciones, asociadas a 11 especies), “firme” (39, 13 spp.), “linda” (33, 13 spp.) y “apagosa” (30, 11 spp.). Conclusiones: En la actualidad los pobladores reconocen, describen e identifican la leña utilizando mayoritariamente caracteres que se relacionan con la brasa; destacan como atributos positivos características vinculadas al poder calórico y a la duración. Se enfatiza la necesidad de abordar las dinámicas sociales relacionadas con el medio ambiente desde el propio campo, como una forma de conocer las prioridades locales y canalizar los esfuerzos para la conservación biológica y cultural.

Using Word Games To Improve The Reading Ability Of Primary Five Pupils Of Ejisu Model School

Using Word Games To Improve The Reading Ability Of Primary Five Pupils Of Ejisu Model School

ПОЛИЛИНГВАЛЬНЫЕ ТАБЛИЦЫ «ПЕРВОНАЧАЛЬНОГО КУРСА ОБУЧЕНИЯ» В.А. ЖУКОВСКОГО В КОНТЕКСТЕ НАСТОЛЬНО- ПЕЧАТНЫХ ИГР ПЕРВОЙ ПОЛОВИНЫ XIX в.

In the early 1850s, Vasily Zhukovsky develops tables with drawings of objects and phenomena and their coded names in four languages. The consistent use of visual didactics in them looks quite innovative against the background of textbooks of the time. The tables are part of the Initial Course of Study, which Zhukovsky was developing in the last years of his life. By that time he had already accumulated considerable experience in teaching Russian as a foreign language on the basis of his own handmade visual aids. Most of the tables are filled with plot-like images, but some also contain symbols, diagrams and maps. The variety of plot and composition solutions in the drawings deserves special attention. This specifically concerns plots, which are independent and developed. The drawings contain details which considerably supplement the basic meaning of the word, they are obviously designed for close examination, comparison and interpretation. The visual emphasis on letters and pictures seems to qualify the manual developed by Zhukovsky as a polylingual picture book, but the usual aims and objectives of an ABC book are here considerably more complicated. The textbook has many more parallels with the board games of that time. It can be seen as an organic continuation of the tradition of “useful” family board games as it displays affinity with them not only at the level of visual and spatial solution, visual and tactile form, but also at the level of mechanisms of interaction of a child with the handbook. It is in the sphere of board games that Zhukovsky finds means to solve the tasks of visual learning set by leading European teachers; such learning would lead a child from sensually perceived concreteness to the formation of concepts. The greatest parallels with Zhukovsky’s tables are found, firstly, in games with ruled cardboard fields. Secondly, word games (charades, rebuses, riddles) clearly influenced the development of the tables. The tables use all the principal advantages of board games in terms of visual learning: bright visual, tactile and spatial landmarks, compact information transfer in the form of diagrams and symbols, informative richness of all game elements, a variety of visual elements. Games on a ruled cardboard field also have plots, though manipulation with the field and chips, acquaintance with drawings and texts in squares on the field in such games always realize a very simple plot. Since for Zhukovsky the main plot a child should be introduced to in the learning process was the universal connection of concepts, the fields of tables, drawings and names extracted by decoding should lead a pupil towards an understanding of the relationship between objects and phenomena of this world. Within the framework of the emblematic tradition, which was still alive in Russian culture in the first half of the 19th century and which Zhukovsky never set out to destroy or overcome, interpretations of combinations of concepts and images presented in his tables had to develop freely, obeying a chain of individual associations of a pupil. At the same time, these associations were guided in the right direction because the structure of the visual series predetermined the child’s actions. The comparison of elements within one cell was followed by the comparison of cells of one column, one row, the table as a whole and the whole complex of tables. In this way, a child progressed towards generalisations; s/he was guided by the logic of the mnemonic construction of the Initial Course of Study that showed the relationship between facts of history, geography, physics, natural history, art history, etc.

Comparative analysis of phrase logical fusions in the french and uzbek languages

In this article, the national and cultural features of fictional toponymic component phraseological units are studied based on the stylistics calembour's. Death informs the gardener that he will come to the garden the day after his death, hearing this news, the gardener escaped to Samarkand that night in agreement with his master, but destiny is inevitable, as the meeting with death will take place in Samarkand at the same time. Thus word play is one of the most characteristic features of French phraseology. The peculiarity of this word game depends on the peculiarities of the French language and the national spirit peculiar to the French.

China Word: Vocabulary Quiz Game for Promoting Chinese Vocabulary Memory among 10th Grade Students

The main purpose of this research is to develop a mobile application game, China Word, to promote the memorization of Chinese vocabulary for 10th grade students. The comparison between students’ scores before and after learning with the game is used to determine success or failure in this study. The sample group was randomly collected from 10th grade students at a volunteer school in Suphanburi Province, Thailand. Sixty students participated in this study. Sixty students were separated in two groups, first thirty students group was the control group and second thirty students group was the experimental group. The control learned Chinese with lecture while the experimental group learned Chinese with the China Word game. In addition, an achievement test and a satisfaction questionnaire were deployed in this experiment as tools to measure students’ accomplishments. Then, simple statistics, such as averages, percentages, standard deviations, and t-test independence, were calculated. The result indicates that the experimental group attains higher learning achievement than the control group at a 95% confidence level.

The Use of Chain Word Game as Vocabulary Building Activity in Vocational High School

This paper aims to describe the implementation of chain word game in vocational high school in automotive program in order to improve students’ vocabulary knowledge. This research is self-observational study that involves a class that consist of 36 students. The data were obtained from the assignment given to students regarding to basic competence designed by Indonesia’s government which was giving congratulation and compliment and its responses. In this study, fun learning plays important role to maintain students’ engagement and giving reward system to appreciate students’ activeness is applied to keep the students’ motivated. The findings from data showed that misspelled words were found less in the students’ assignment that have been collected.