Can a kitchen teach languages? Linking theory and practice in the design of context-aware language learning environments

Smart learning environments offer rich opportunities for language learners. Inparticular, context-aware systems which allow learners ' progress to be sensed withinand across an activity, enable instructed language learning to move beyond thetraditional confines of the classroom walls. In this paper we present the EuropeanKitchen, a real-world task-based environment for cooking and language learning. Indoing so, we demonstrate how specific design decisions, in the development of thislonger-term iterative design project, conjoin Human Computer Interaction practiceand learning theory for situated language learning. We also show how this approachis combined with Conversation Analysis, which is used as a tool to measure theimpact of these decisions on the interactions taking place in and with the kitchen.Our work reveals that in order to design for and evaluate effective and meaningfullanguage learning, there should be more balance between technologically-driventheory and theory driven research which has a strong pedagogical foundation. Ourwork has implications for a transferable, interdisciplinary model of task-based, situatedlearning which can be applied and adapted to different skill and knowledge sets.