This study presents the results from a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system of Runyakitara (RU_CALL). The major objective was to provide an electronic language learning environment that can enable learners with mother tongue deficiencies to enhance their knowledge of grammar and acquire writing skills in Runyakitara. The system…

Griffith University is set across five campuses in south-east Queensland, Australia, and has a student population of 43,000. The School of Languages and Linguistics (LAL) offers programs in linguistics, international English, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, as well as English language enhancement courses. Research strands reflect the…

The advance of digital video technology in the past two decades facilitates empirical investigation of learning in real time. The focus of this paper is the combined use of real-time digital video and a networked linguistic corpus for exploring the ways in which these technologies enhance our capability to investigate the cognitive process of…

Researchers at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) have built a large database of every-day English and dictionary (COBUILD) for producing better English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language teaching and learning materials. The lexical syllabus and the English course that has evolved from is are discussed. (23 references) (Author/LB)

This paper reports on a paper to develop two computer text corpora, called Hong Kong Texts on Hong Kong," at the University of Hong Kong English Centre. These corpora are intended to serve as a resource for teachers and researchers who need information on English usage in published text in Hong Kong. The aim of the report is to disseminate…

Evaluates the intelligibility of computer speech (Supertalker, Codec) by having 47 Australian children, ages six-seven, identify speech sounds in isolation, as initial sound in words, and as final sounds in words. Since Codec more closely approximates normal speech, it is recommended for computer-assisted instruction with beginning readers.…

The current emphasis in second language teaching lies in the achievement of communicative effectiveness. In line with this approach, pronunciation training is nowadays geared towards helping learners avoid serious pronunciation errors, rather than eradicating the finest traces of foreign accent. However, to devise optimal pronunciation training…

This paper defines the structure of a semantic network for use in representing discourse and lexical meanings. The structure is designed to represent underlying semantic meanings that, with a lexicon and a grammar, can generate natural-language sentences in a linguistically justifiable manner. The semantics of natural English can be defined as a…

The general goal of this research and development program was to facilitate man-machine communication in areas of high military impact, including on-line computing in communications, command, and control. Highlights of this research include: identification of major causes of man-machine communication difficulty for the computer-naive; discovery of…

Outlines the history of semantically based programs that have influenced the design of computer assisted language instruction (CALI) programs. Describes early attempts to make intelligent CALI as well as current projects, including the Foreign Language Adventure Game, developed at the University of Delaware. Describes some important…

The potential of corpora for language learning and teaching has been widely acknowledged and their ready availability on the Web has facilitated access for a broad range of users, including language teachers and learners. However, the integration of corpora into general language learning and teaching practice has so far been disappointing. In this…

With computer corpora firmly established as research tools in linguistics, their application for language teaching purposes is also increasingly advocated to the extent that corpus-based language teaching has even been praised as the new revolution in language teaching (cf. Sinclair, 2004b). This article takes a more critical view and examines…

The system described in this report is designed for use as a computational tool that allows a linguist to develop and study methods for generating surface strings from an underlying semantic structure. Initial findings with regard to form-determiners (such as voice, form, tense, and mood), some rules for embedding sentences, and some attention to…

Methods and approaches used at the U.S. Army Research Institute to investigate intelligent computer-assisted foreign language instruction are discussed. The research described explores the use of hypertext and natural language processing for improving language training by articulating student knowledge structures and for providing, incidentally, a…

QUE2 is a recently devised, natural language, questioning-answering program written in LISP1-5. It deals in simple, kernel sentences and employs the theory that the semantic content of a sentence is the set of relationships between conceptual objects (represented by the words in it), which the sentence and its structure imply. The data base of the…