Chinese Scrabble : a web-based speech-enabled game for Chinese vocabulary building

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is a web-based language game Chinese Scrabble, whose main objective is to help students of Chinese to practice speaking, to learn and review vocabulary both in pinyin and in Chinese characters. The game was intended to be very flexible and customizable in order to accommodate a wide range of users on a long-term basis. As a part of the project, we conveyed a pilot user study with both students of Chinese and native Chinese speakers to evaluate how enjoyable the game was and what aspects of language it may teach.