“Vocab Village” is an innovative VR application designed to enhance vocabulary learning for middle school and ESL high school students. Developed using Unity and incorporating OpenAI’s Whisper API, this educational game immerses players in various thematic worlds such as space, dinosaurs, and chemistry. Each map contains a unique word bank, and correct pronunciation of words animates objects in an engaging way.
The project began with the challenge of adapting Unity for VR functionalities and progressed to creating a welcoming, cartoon-style village scene as the main hub. Here, players are guided by the mascot Quacky through interactive tutorials. The space-themed map allows players to revive planets by naming them correctly, adding a fun, educational twist.
As development progressed, the team focused on user experience enhancements, such as improving visual clarity, refining UIs, and introducing audio elements for pronunciation help. A farm scene was added, featuring common animals and crops, further expanding the learning environment.
Final refinements were made to ensure a seamless, immersive experience, including completing the farm map, adding NPC interactions, and creating side quests. The user-friendly landing page, realistic ambient sounds, and a comprehensive tutorial with Quacky’s voiceover round out the user experience.
The project culminated in the creation of a promotional trailer and a polished website. “Vocab Village” stands out for its combination of educational value and technological innovation, leveraging the capabilities of Unity and the advanced speech recognition of OpenAI’s Whisper to create a unique VR learning experience.