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DLSU Arts Congress Conference Proceedings

Abstract

Heritage learners are individuals with cultural ties to a language but also who lack proficiency in them, therefore often struggling to maintain their linguistic heritage. This is a common challenge for Filipino Bicol Language learners, especially those who grew up outside the region. This paper presents BikoLearn, a new web application designed to help heritage learners acquire the Bikol Language starting at the A1 beginner level. The application, which is designed first for mobile phones, mixes gamification features with relevant cultural content to make learning accessible. Through formatted lessons, interactive quizzes, and progress tracking presented in a gamified format, BikoLearn engages users of the app through learning experiences. User testing with heritage learners yielded strong results, including an average user satisfaction rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 and a significant improvement in post-test scores. This study successfully delivered a validated tool for the Gubatnon dialect. To the best of our knowledge, this work made a small but significant contribution to heritage language education. The CEFR-aligned design of BikoLearn serves as a framework to develop more language learning tools not just for other Philippine languages but also for other regional or heritage languages that face preservation challenges.

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