UX Conference and Language Learning?

UX Conference and Language Learning?

by Irfan Rifai

I  attended the first UX Indonesia – Malaysia conference on Saturday, April 26, 2014 in hotel Bidakara, Jakarta by invitation. The conference was attended by hundreds of both academicians and practitioners in the computer-related fields. Why would a language lecturer do in a computer-related conference?

I like integrating technology in my language classrooms and use it as tool to maximize students’ learning. Being in the conference gave me a lot of insights on how the system is  being built and  applied in various industries. Prof. Zhengjie Lie of China , one of the speakers, conveyed that in many countries, research on User Experience ( UX) has been expanded to disciplines like psychology and economy and  those that relate to Computer Human Interaction ( CHI) research interest.

Another speaker, Dr. Eunice Sari, a Perth-based researcher – practitioner, shared a topic entitled Learning Experience Design. Of all the presentations, the topic delivered by Dr. Eunice was , in my opinion, the one that was closely related with my language teaching field. In her speech, Dr. Eunice described the elements required to design  the  digital landscapes available online and  methods to implement them. She also provided examples of web applications that teachers/ users can use to enhance learning.

The likes of Mr. Adi Tedjakusuma of Indonesia ,   Prof. Khong  & Mr. Ashok Sivaji of Malaysia then made their presentations on issues regarding the development  of  UX  development design. The one day conference was closed with a community building activity. As the result, an Indonesian branch for UX Indonesia was established with Dr. Eunice Sari being elected to be the first UX Indonesia president.

As a foreign language learner/teacher/researcher, I got to know a lot of new perspectives on User Experience and the opportunities that it promises to language teaching field. Thanks for the invitation UX Indonesia.