This paper reports on a comparative evaluation of the Phrasal Definition Format of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and the Sentence Definition format of the Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary. The study found that English-as-a-Second-Language students expressed strong preferences for having usage examples and for the…

This paper examines the development and testing of a machine-translation program designed to translate English text into Portuguese. A comparison of machine- and human-translated texts, using Brazilian secondary school students as readers, found that they were equally understood, both in terms of main ideas and details. (six references) (MDM)

Statistical analysis tools in language testing are described, chiefly classical test theory and item response theory. Computer software for statistical analysis is briefly reviewed and divided into three tiers: commonly available; statistical packages; and specialty software. (Author/VWL)

Describes the results of a research project that tested computer assisted language teaching/learning programs in everyday classroom situations. The evaluative principles and the selection of the programs evaluated are discussed, and the applied techniques borrowed from cognitive psychology in the evaluation of text manipulation programs of the…

Describes a parser-driven Japanese tutor, "BANZAI," designed for second-language instruction and presents an empirical study of the program. Results indicate that ongoing rule-driven deductive feedback is more effective than example-driven inductive feedback for learning relatively complex structures whose grammatical rules are not…

Data analysis using the Macintosh SoundEdit software showed that the signal contains the exact reverse of what the phonological rules of assimilation predict, i.e., the rules are not based on actual differences in the acoustic signal. Possible applications of SoundEdit in helping second-language learners improve their pronunciation are discussed.…

Examines the interactions of pairs of language students working with multimedia. Specific comparisons are made of the patterns of discourse of second-language English Speakers and native English speakers within a framework for analyzing the interactional dynamic that incorporates the ways that exchanges are shaped by constraints. The implications…

A case is made against the educational application with nonproficient writers of "canned" feedback provided by text analysis computer programs marketed as grammar checkers and style analyzers. The feedback does not teach students. Alternative approaches for giving students feedback in the electronic medium are offered. (46 references) (Author/LB)

Explores the potential of the use of voice-recognition technology with second-language speakers of English. Involves the analysis of the output produced by a small group of very competent second-language subjects reading a text into the voice recognition software Dragon Systems "Dragon NaturallySpeaking." (Author/VWL)

A year-long project to develop an automatic English grammar text-analysis for Chinese students in Taiwan to help writing revision processes is described. The project analyzed 135 writing samples, developed an electronic dictionary, and researched error analysis, linguistic analysis, and natural language processing in computational linguistics.…