{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/education--family-42","type":"mechanic","id":"education--family-42","lang":"en","title":"Foreign languages and language switching","summary":"The learner links meaning, pronunciation and spelling in another language and applies them in a meaningful context.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-42/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-42.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-42.md","aliases":["Foreign-language learning"],"tags":["Educational games","Language and subject applications"],"sourceIds":["source-872a30e434db6d16"],"sources":[{"id":"source-872a30e434db6d16","title":"Duolingo","url":"https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Match words, sounds and images"},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-42-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Match words, sounds and images <a id=\"family-42-variant-1\"></a>\n- Understand another language's instructions <a id=\"family-42-variant-2\"></a>\n- Recall words without translation prompts <a id=\"family-42-variant-3\"></a>\n- Pronounce words or phrases <a id=\"family-42-variant-4\"></a>\n- Use expressions in dialogue <a id=\"family-42-variant-5\"></a>\n- Switch language on cue <a id=\"family-42-variant-6\"></a>\n- Assemble utterances <a id=\"family-42-variant-7\"></a>\n- Read short messages <a id=\"family-42-variant-8\"></a>\n- Understand contextual speech <a id=\"family-42-variant-9\"></a>\n- Compare language structures <a id=\"family-42-variant-10\"></a>\n- Explain unfamiliar words using known words <a id=\"family-42-variant-11\"></a>\n- Solve through communication <a id=\"family-42-variant-12\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Order in a virtual cafe using the language being learned."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"education","id":"family-42","title":"Educational games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-42","categoryIds":["language"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Foreign-language learning","description":"The learner links meaning, pronunciation and spelling in another language and applies them in a meaningful context.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/learning-duo-101-4.webp","width":665,"height":1440,"game":"Duolingo","sourceUrl":"https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/","originalUrl":"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/content.duolingo.com/Duolingo+101%3A+How+to+learn+a+language+on+Duolingo/6-exerciseTypes.png","credit":"Duolingo","rights":"© Duolingo. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Duolingo: a picture and word in a translation task","alt":"Duolingo: a picture and word in a translation task","markers":[{"x":50,"y":42,"label":"The fish picture links the word to its referent"}]},"tips":["Alternate recognition, production and conversational use."],"examples":[{"title":"Duolingo","url":"https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/education"}}