Group items tagged

Phonetics course for French

Entries are posted online and users can vote for their favorite

Students can draw Chinese character using mouse, and it will look it up in Chinese character dictionary. Available as applet or stand-alone program, Java source code available also.

Tips on activating Arabic language keyboards and right-to-left text direction in Windows.

SynPhony is an open-source project that will assist in teaching literacy skills for alphabetic writing systems. It is a database system designed to systematically present the patterns of a language and track a user's progress as they acquire reading skills. There are four main components to SynPhony: linguistic, pedagogic, user knowledge base, and reports. Although English is the first language being targeted, the structure and methods used will be suitable for many other languages as well.

Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian Following the success of Evalita 2007, we are pleased to announce Evalita 2009, the second evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing tools for Italian, supported by the NLP working group of AI*IA. The general objective of Evalita is to promote the development of language and speech technologies for the Italian language, providing a shared framework where different systems and approaches can be evaluated in a consistent manner. This year in conjunction with AISV (the Italian Association of Speech Science), Evalita will also hold the first speech input technology evaluation for Italian.

Suggestions for typing, fonts, etc. in Hebrew.

Virtual Arabic Keyboard for students who do not have an Arabic Keyboard on their computers

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now genetically engineered a strain of mice whose FOXP2 gene has been swapped out for the human version. In a region of the brain called the basal ganglia, known in people to be involved in language, the humanized mice grew nerve cells that had a more complex structure. Baby mice utter ultrasonic whistles when removed from their mothers. The humanized baby mice, when isolated, made whistles that had a slightly lower pitch, among other differences, Dr. Enard says. Dr. Enard argues that putting significant human genes into mice is the only feasible way of exploring the essential differences between people and chimps, our closest living relatives.

This guide presents factors to consider in evaluating the practicality of tutorial CALL software for purchase and implementation. It is decision-based and is intended to be used in light of specific environments and populations in which the software will be used.

"Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style. A single value or pattern of perceiving the world often leaves its stamp on several institutions in the society. Examples are "machismo" in Spanish-influenced cultures, "face" in Japanese culture, and "pollution by females" in some highland New Guinea cultures. Here Horace Miner demonstrates that "attitudes about the body" have a pervasive influence on many institutions in Nacirema society."

This is a great site with all the videos from the Al-Kitaab DVDs put up. Since every single American student of Arabic uses these books, this should be particularly helpful.

Language learning in Tandem: Autonomous learning with a partner. Site with Tandem principles and materials, including face-to-face and e-tandem connections.

"EXMARaLDA steht für "Extensible Markup Language for Discourse Annotation". Es ist ein System von Konzepten, Datenformaten und Werkzeugen für die computergestützte Transkription und Annotation gesprochener Sprache, sowie für das Erstellen und Auswerten von Korpora gesprochener Sprache. EXMARaLDA wird im Teilprojekt "Computergestützte Erfassungs- und Analysemethoden multilingualer Daten" des Sonderforschungsbereichs "Mehrsprachigkeit" (SFB 538) der Universität Hamburg entwickelt. Alle Komponenten des EXMARaLDA-Systems sind auch für Nutzer außerhalb des SFB frei verfügbar."

"A program of United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program will offer intensive summer language institutes overseas in thirteen critical need foreign languages for summer 2010. The on-line application for CLS Program awards is now available, and the deadline to apply will be December 18, 2009. "

Links to online resources from DLI.

Site of bilingual, animated folktales in a wide range of languages, with audio. From Defense Language Institute.

Free online survey of learning styles

"Foreign or second language (L2) learning strategies are specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques students use -- often consciously -- to improve their progress in apprehending, internalizing, and using the L2 (Oxford, 1990b). Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed for developing L2 communicative ability (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). Research has repeatedly shown that the conscious, tailored use of such strategies is related to language achievement and proficiency."

Conatins links to websites that can help with Latin Study