Abstract:

Traditional  computer-aided instruction  strategies have a number of well- known limitations. CALLE, a dialogue-based Spanish language instruction  system, avoids many of these limitations  by allowing the student to concentrate on the creative process of formulating a conversational response in the context of a simulated discourse. Natural language processing techniques enable errors in student input to be diagnosed on the basis of a linguistic analysis. This analysis is performed using Lexical Functional Grammar theory. This article discusses CALLE's theoretical basis, its implementation, extensibility issues, pedagogical considerations, and its relationship to ICAI. It is based on a talk given at the CALICO '85 Symposium in Baltimore.

Author: Ken Feuerman, Catherine Marshall, David Newman, Marikka Rypa