There are four versions of Painter Bear's Language Bridge: Spanish/English, French/English, German/English, and Italian/English. The program provides a unique way for anyone to learn common vocabulary and phrases in another language. The program is not designed to teach an entire language; rather, it may be most appropriately used as a supplement to other language study or to help prepare students for travel to other countries. Each program includes over 1,000 vocabulary words and phrases, including colors, numbers, foods, and helpful travel phrases. It also features the "Word Palette," a feature designed to allow students to look up specific words and learn how to translate them into another language. The game play of the program is to translate words correctly in order to complete a painting of a bridge. When the painting is completed, the student will have the option of playing a driving game in order to "drive" over the bridge and earn points, plus the student will be able to display the "bridge art" in the game's virtual art gallery.
B. Objectives
1. To learn a variety of vocabulary words in other languages.
2. To learn a variety of common phrases in other languages.
3. To learn common travel phrases and vocabulary terms.
4. To drill vocabulary words and phrases.
C. Methods
Game Play
The primary objective of the program is to answer a variety of multiple choice questions in order to help the bear paint a picture of a bridge. After 10 words or phrases have been translated correctly, the student will have the option to then drive over the bridge and earn points.
Upon starting the program, the student will be able to choose his or her own native language, and all questions will be asked in that language. Answers to the questions will be in the other language.
At the Main Menu screen, the student will have a choice of over 30 categories of various vocabulary words and phrases. Each category of word or phrase is represented by a picture button, and when the student places the cursor over the button, the name of the category is spoken and is written in the lower portion of the screen. To choose a category, the student should click on the appropriate picture button.
Upon choosing a category, the student will be transported to the Question and Answer screen. At that screen, the student will be asked to choose the correct translation of a given vocabulary word or phrase. For example, if the student has chosen the category "Animals," the program might ask the student to choose the correct translation for "dog."
As the student translates vocabulary words correctly, small pieces of a representation of a painting will appear below the bear. To view the actual painting, click on the eye button. Ten correctly answered questions will complete the painting; when the painting is complete, the student will be asked if he or she would like to go for a drive. Upon clicking "Yes", the student will be transported to the Driving screen and will have the opportunity to earn points. (If the student clicks "No", he or she will be transported back to the Main Menu screen and will not earn any points.)
At the Driving screen, the student will have an opportunity to drive over a bridge while maneuvering around obstacles. Some of the obstacles include street signs and flower boxes; the student may drive over ramps to briefly "fly" over obstacles. To maneuver the car, the student should use the keyboard's up and down arrows to control speed, and the right and left arrow buttons to steer the car. As the student maneuvers around the obstacles and drives across the bridge, points will accumulate. When the student has reached the finish line of the bridge, he or she must click on the red arrow button to return to the Main Menu screen.
At any time during game play, the student may access the Word Palette, the Bridge Gallery, and High Scores from the Main Menu screen. The Word Palette, which can be accessed by clicking on the book icon in the lower portion of the Main Menu screen, allows students to find out how to say certain words in a different languages. A more detailed description of the Word Palette screen can be found in the Game Interface section of this manual. The Bridge Gallery, which can be accessed by clicking on the painting icon in the lower portion of the screen, allows the student to see which paintings he or she has completed thus far. Upon exiting the program, the paintings will disappear. The High Scores screen, which can be accessed by clicking on the medal in the lower portion of the screen, allows the student to see the highest scores earned in the program.
Game Interface
There are four primary screens in Painter Bear's Language Bridge. The first screen, the Main Menu screen, allows the student to access the main aspects of game play, including the different categories of vocabulary words and phrases. The second screen, the Question and Answer screen, features the primary question and answer portion of the game. The third screen, the Driving screen, allows the student to drive over a bridge and earn points. The fourth screen, the Word Palette, allows the student to look up specific words and see how to translate them.
I. The Main Menu Screen
The Main Menu screen allows the student to access the primary facets of game play. To choose a category of vocabulary words, the student should click on one of the pictures in the center of the screen. To find out how to translate a specific word, the student should click on the book in the lower right hand corner of the screen to access the Word Palette. To look at the paintings completed so far, the student should click on the painting in the lower right hand corner of the screen. To review the high scores, the student should click on the medal in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. At any time during game play, the student can switch back and forth between languages; to switch languages, the student should click on the green arrows on the left side of the screen. To turn off the background music, the student should click on the yellow music note. To exit the program, the student should click on the red arrow button.
II. Question and Answer Screen
The student will be transported to the Question and Answer screen upon choosing one of the categories of vocabulary and phrases from the Main Menu screen. The question is located in the right portion of the screen, and the four possible choices located below the question. To hear the question again, the student should click on the mouth icon on the top of the screen. Or, to hear the choices again, the student should click on the mouth icons to the left of each choice. To choose an answer, the student should simply click on the word. As the student translates vocabulary words correctly, small pieces of a representation of a painting will appear below the bear. To view the actual painting, click on the eye button. To return to the previous screen, the student should click on the red arrow button. At any time during game play, the student can switch back and forth between languages; to switch languages, the student should click on the green arrows. To turn off the background music, the student should click on the yellow music note.
III. Driving Screen
At the Driving screen, the student will have an opportunity to drive over a bridge while maneuvering around obstacles. Some of the obstacles include street signs and flower boxes; the student may drive over ramps to briefly "fly" over obstacles. To maneuver the car, the student should use the keyboard's up and down arrows to control speed, and the right and left arrow buttons to steer the car. The score is located in the upper left corner of the screen. To return to the Main Menu, the student should click on the red arrow button. To turn off the background music, the student should click on the yellow music note.
IV. Word Palette
On the Word Palette screen, the student can discover how to say specific words in a different language. To find the translation of a specific word, simply type the word in the space provided. To look at a list of words that begin with a specific letter of the alphabet, the student should type the letter. To choose a word, the student should simply click on it, and that word in the other language will appear to the right. At any time during game play, the student can switch back and forth between languages; to switch languages, the student should click on the green arrows. To turn off the background music, the student should click on the yellow music note. To return to the Main Menu screen, the student should on the red arrow in the lower portion of the screen.
D. Tracking
The tracking function data is stored in a text file that can be accessed by most word processing programs. (Hint: For best results, change the font of your tracking output to a monospaced font, such as "Courier.") In this program, the tracking output will appear in the same language you have chosen for your game. If you switch languages throughout game play, the language of the tracking output will also change.
The tracking function is automatically activated. You will be given the opportunity to access the tracking information when you exit the program. When the student is finished using the program, click on the "EXIT" button. On the next screen that appears, there are three options: SAVE, PRINT, and EXIT. To save the tracking information, click the "SAVE" button; when the dialogue box appears, name the file, and designate where you want to save it. To print the tracking information, click the "PRINT" button, and follow the directions of your operating system. To exit the program without saving the tracking information, click the "EXIT" button.
E. Teaching Suggestions
As you can see from the above descriptions, Painter Bear's Language Bridge offers students an opportunity to supplement their instruction in foreign language. The program may be best used as a supplement to vocabulary instruction, or to help prepare students for foreign travel. The ways you use the program will vary depending on your students' needs and abilities. You should begin by determining the skills or information your students need to learn or practice.
The different categories of words and phrases can be separated into different parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. If you would like to introduce your students to nouns in another language, have him or her choose "Transportation", "Clothing", "People", "Stores", "Buildings", "The Body", "Sports and Hobbies", "Occupations", "School", "The Bathroom", "The Kitchen", "Geography", "The City", "The House", "Furniture", "Animals", "Food", or "Travel". To focus on verbs, have the student select the "Verbs" category. To focus on adverbs, have the student select the "Adverbs" category. To focus on words that may be used as adjectives or nouns, have the student select "Numbers" or "Colors". For more intensive preparation for foreign travel, have the student select the "Travel" vocabulary category, or the "Travel Phrases" category. To drill the student on all parts of speech, have the student choose the "Everything" or "All Words" categories.
