An e-learning system for Japanese onomatopoeic expressions

The Japanese language have a great number of onomatopoeic expressions, which is one of the key characteristics of this language as well as other East-Asian languages like Korean and Indonesian. When a foreigner learns Japanese, thus, it is important to master them, but, due to its quite subjective nature, many feel great difficulty, and it is indeed the case with foreigners who wants to work in Japan. However they are often neglected in rapid Japanese teaching, and a supportive e-learning system for mastering Japanese onomatopoeic expressions is desirable. Based on linguistic reconsideration on Japanese onomatopoeic expressions, we are developing an online e-learning system of Japanese onomatopoeic expressions for foreign workers. Our system aims to present not only explanation of individual onomatopoeic expressions but various contextual information, and to offer a question-answer communication device that enables learners to have a quick, probable answer with relevant examples found in online data and instructors to explain the expression afterwards. Evaluation of our prototype system by foreign Japanese learners indicates that using this kind of e-learning system is suitable for complementing Japanese learning at school.