Abstract:

The importance of conversing with native speakers during the process of learning a second language is understood by any linguist. Unfortunately, opportunities to talk with natives, particularly for extended periods of time, are rare for the majority of language students. Multimedia and speech recognition technologies, in concert, offer an exciting solution to this problem. The researchers at Interactive Drama Inc. (IDI) have adapted their speech-activated multimedia system (Conversim™) for foreign language training. The resulting model allows students to engage native speakers on CD-ROM in lengthy, face-to-face dialogues using natural spoken language. Four Virtual Conversations™ programs have been developed to comprise a series in Arabic.1 The series was rigorously tested by IDI under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and in association with the Defense Language Institute and the U.S. Army Research Institute. This article describes the development of this series, the experiments that measured its use and effectiveness in a formal language training environment, and the significant findings of the research.

Author: William G. Harless, Marcia A. Zier, Robert C. Duncan