Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

THE VL3

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

REVEALED …

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Multidisciplinary Project

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

VL3

• Prototype of a virtual language learning lab

Focus: Dialogue System Technology

Technological Platform: Sintagma (Natural Language Inc.)

Sintagma: allows for a complete, coherent and flexible treatment of natural language comprehension and dialogue management.

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

SINTAGMA

•Based on grammatical analysis strategies (superior to using keyword spotting)

•Lexical level: words are analyzed in microseconds

•Representation of anaphoric expressions

•Allows for immediate correction

•Memory

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

THE STAGES OF THE VL3

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

The backbone

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Lexicon

Database with over 1,200,000 words in Spanish clasified in lexical categories and annotated with values for certain features.

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Lexical categories

18 lexical categories:

adjective adverb article

conjuction demonstrative adjective

demonstrative pronoun

exclamatory indefinite pronoun interrogative

interjection noun possessive adjective

possessive pronoun preposition personal

pronoun

relative pronoun quantifier verb

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Features (I)

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Features (II)

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Lexicon (II)

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Syntactic Categories

8 syntactic categories formed by the previous lexical categories:

adjective phrase

adverb phrase

complentizer phrase

determiner phrase

nounphrase

prepositional phrase

quantifier phrase

verbal phrase

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Example: DP

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Features (III)

The syntactic categories inherit some features from the lexical categories that form them.

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Grammar

A grammar is a set of rules that determine how to build correct expressions.They are formed by lexical and syntactic categories in a specific order.

AdjP = adverb? + adjective NP = noun + AdjP? DP = article + NP VP = verb + DP P = DP + VP

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Features (IV)

Common features are taken.

DP = article + noun

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Features (V)

Features provide feedback.

DP = article + noun, but also IF article.gender ≠ noun.gender THEN

Error: gender agreement IF article.number ≠ noun.number THEN

Error: number agreement ELSE

DP.gender = noun.genderDP.number = noun.number

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Scenarios

Specific rules supported by syntactic categories.

“¿Cómo está tu hermano?”“¿Cómo está su hijo pequeño?”“¿Cómo está la madre de tu amigo?”

HOWRU = interrogative + verb + DP, but also

interrogative = “cómo” ANDverb = “está”

Virtual Laboratory for Language Learning (VL3)

Stay tuned …