Crocodile Language Friend: Tangibles to Foster Children's Language Use

Abstract

Active language use refers to people's use of a language in their everyday lives and activities. Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) can facilitate children's participation in language activities such as language learning, communication, storytelling, and social play. However, few TUI projects take the lens of active language use, and exploit the benefits of tangibles for maintaining and revitalising endangered languages. We present the Crocodile Language Friend, co-designed with the Wujal Wujal community, to foster children's use of the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal language. We contribute a discussion of the ways in which the crocodile's physical characteristics (e.g. size, shape, materials, and personalization) can encourage language use in individual and social activities beyond the affordances of screen-based systems.