Temperature Conversion Between Centigrade and Fahrenheit on the Fly for Travelers Using Encore!!! Language app

Every year millions of tourists travel to other countries to enjoy new cultural experiences. Often in addition to contending with a new language they also have to contend with the use of units for temperature or length and speed that are very different. In summer millions of tourists travel across the world and many of them travel from countries that use a temperature unit that is different from the one used in the destination country.

For example tourists traveling from the USA are used to Fahrenheit as a unit but when they travel to Europe or Japan the temperature unit they encounter is Centigrade. This can be somewhat confusing as for someone used to Fahrenheit a temperature of 40 °C may not seem too warm till they realize that this is 104.0 °F. One can of course do a simple math exercise and convert from one unit to another as described below. 

Temperature in Centigrade = Temperature in Fahrenheit -32 X (5/9)

Temperature in Fahrenheit = Temperature in Centigrade X (9/5) +32

However, why not have this conversion in your mind so you can instantly relate the temperature given in one unit to the temperature in another. With the Encore!!! Language Learning app’s ability to:

1) prepare a playlist;

2) hear, speak and repeat each element of the playlist repeatedly one can “memorize” the relation between one unit and another just as one can memorize new vocabulary words.

Then once one has memorized this relation for say a dozen or so typical temperatures one can do a quick test with Encore!!! To see how well you have learnt. 

One can use a table similar to the one below to become familiar with the two systems of temperatures. In the MyEntries section of Encore!!! app a user can enter the numbers for Centigrade in Textbox 1 and the corresponding numbers in Fahrenheit in Textbox 2. Then one can use the “record audio” option to record the entry pairs. Finally when all the entries are done, one can prepare a playlist from these entries and choose number of repetitions the entries are repeated. 

Note that entries in the Playlist can be “”switched” i.e. one can first play the number in Centigrade and then in Fahrenheit or reverse the order to play the number in Fahrenheit first and then the number in Centigrade. With a little practice, within a few minutes one can develop a quick recall memory to convert Centigrades to Fahrenheit and vice versa.

Then the next time you are from USA in Rome and see a LED sign saying the temperature is 42 °C you know that you need to protect yourself and make sure to hydrate as you walk through the Coliseum.

Author: Dr. Jasprit Singh, President Gurmentor, Inc.

A Learning Company https://gurmentor.com

Professor Emeritus, Electrical Engg. & Comp. Sci. and Applied Physics

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor