“Little” programs Purpose-built learning programs

(courseware) Using existing technology for educational

purposes CALL and NLP Learner corpora

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From earliest days of “microcomputers”, enthusiasts saw ways to implement programs to help learners◦ Programmed in low-level languages, eg Basic◦ Crude implementations based on activities which

were already part of (language) learning◦ e.g. vocabulary drills, gap-filling exercises

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Often admirable attempts to use new technology

Usually programs were “one-off”◦ No separation of algorithms and data◦ Each exercise was a self-contained program

Quite easy to “modularise”◦ have a generic program which would “load” a

data file, containing quiz questions and answers

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Content / design determined by technological or pedagogical concerns/issues?◦ Find some use for technology that is available, or◦ Design programs to do what you really want

Flexibility and reuse◦ Lot of effort goes into design, so best if design allows for

multiple reuse◦ Notion of “authoring” packages◦ Allowing multiple correct answers

Student-driven learning◦ Student can work at own time and pace◦ Role of teacher (if any) very different◦ Some systems designed for “teach-yourself” scenario

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Multiple-choice tests Matching activities Item list learning and testing

◦ Vocabulary test (L1→L2, L2 →L1, picture naming)◦ Writing system (eg Japanese, Chinese characters)

Gap filling drills◦ Grammatical forms (agreement, tenses)◦ Vocabulary

Note difficulty of allowing creative language use, due to need to check right answer◦ E.g. “compete this sentence with an appropriate adjective”◦ Alternative allowable answers must be explicitly predicted

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“Courseware” Much more than computerized exercises “Typical CALL programs present a stimulus to which

the learner must respond. The stimulus may be presented in any combination of text, still images, sound, and motion video. The learner responds by typing at the keyboard, pointing and clicking with the mouse, or speaking into a microphone. The computer offers feedback, indicating whether the learner’s response is right or wrong and, in the more sophisticated CALL programs, attempting to analyse the learner’s response and to pinpoint errors. Branching to help and remedial activities is a common feature of CALL programs.” (wikipedia)

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Learner’s input – typed, spoken, other GUI

Stimulus – text, picture, sound, video

Is response appropriate?

Feedback to user

Lesson plan

Student model

Explanations etc.

Use in the classroom of technology designed for other purposes◦ Playing computer games in the L2◦ Using L2 word processors, spell checkers and

other packages◦ Speech recognition as pronunciation training◦ Use of synthetic speech to create spoken

language material◦ Use of MT (mainly to illustrate language

differences)

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What is the role of parsing technology in CALL?◦ Parsers can allow creative writing to be part of

CALL package◦ Parser as a grammar checker◦ Parser as an error checker

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Especially with beginners and intermediate learners, since range of structures and vocabulary is more limited

Parsers can (usually) not only say whether a sentence is grammatical, but also why (and where) it is ungrammatical

Errors can trigger feedback messages, and can send information to the student model◦ For example, errors in agreement might

indicate that student hasn’t yet grasped this concept, so needs some more instruction

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Parsing mechanism can also be used to look for particular (expected) errors

“Grammar of errors”: parser has rules which specifically capture ungrammatical sentences

If input can be parsed, then there is an error Otherwise, sentence is “correct” (ie no error

detected)

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Long experience of language teaching tells us what errors to expect◦ Some errors are due to inherent complexities of

the language◦ Other errors are due to interference from a

particular L1

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Language teaching meets corpus linguistics several efforts to collect corpora of learners’

writing◦ Notably International Corpus of Learner English

(ICLE), Louvain University several efforts to collect corpora of learners’

writing◦ Study of “interlanguage”

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