We argue that museums presenting exhibits of ancient texts may be able to benefit from accompanying them with annotated electronic versions. We present a short study using two sample annotated texts built using the Learning And Reading Assistant (LARA) platform for a fragment of an Old Norse manuscript and an inscription in Ancient Egyptian…

We are developing a Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) system for learners of Icelandic as a second and foreign language (L2). Based on pre-designed tasks in pronunciation exercises, this system will provide corrective feedback on learners' speech. One of the main features we are implementing is a new method for automatic…

This article presents results from a human-centred approach study to designing a mobile app TALAÐU!, which aims at assisting learners of Icelandic as a second language (L2) with spoken language practice. The main goal of the app would be to encourage learners to have real-life conversations with Icelandic speakers by accomplishing conversational…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the on-campus teaching mode at local universities in Iceland changed to distance teaching and synchronous classes online. This rapid and unexpected change also affected the learners. Although videoconferencing was used as the main point of reference, this method turned out to be less suitable for synchronous online…

This article presents two studies performed on 14 immigrant families with children aged one to 16; 12 families in Iceland and two Icelandic families living abroad. Lack of exposure and availability of online materials for learning Icelandic as an L2 may affect what skills children can practise at home. This study represents 32 children aged one to…

We describe how the open-source Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) platform was used to convert a classic Old Norse text, the "Völuspá," into an interactive online form. The LARA version includes high-quality recorded audio, translations, notes on key words and phrases, an automatically generated concordance, and links to other online…

In this article, the developers of seven Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs), Icelandic Online (IOL, https://icelandiconline.com/), describe the technological and pedagogical principles that have contributed to the program's longevity. Development began in 2001 with a courseware system later upgraded to a multiplatform app. Over 80,000…

We present a study in which multimedia alphabet books were constructed for ten languages using the Learning And Reading Assistant (LARA) platform. We describe the alphabet books we built, the different design features they instantiate, and an initial evaluation using an anonymous online questionnaire. Links are provided to the books themselves,…

Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) is an open source platform that enables conversion of plain texts into an interactive multimedia form designed to support second- and foreign-language (L2) learners. In this workshop, we illustrate the open source aspects using collaborative work carried out during a six-week summer project at the Árni…

This paper presents a brief overview of LARA (Learning And Reading Assistant), an open source online tool that has been under development since summer 2018. LARA currently contains a corpus of about 25 texts in ten languages and a crowdsourcing model used to expand the corpus. The central goal is to provide support for improving second language…

This paper describes how beginners of Icelandic as a foreign and second language responded to playing the first scene in Virtual Reykjavik, a video game-like environment where learners interact with virtual characters--Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). This game enables learners to practice speaking and listening skills, to learn about the…