Transcript Computer support for second language learners’ free text production -Initial Studies-

Computer support for second
language learners’ free text
production
-Initial StudiesO. Knutsson, T. Cerratto Pargman
& K. Severinson Eklundh
Royal Institute of Technology
Stockholm - Sweden
Outline
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Introduction
Background
Theoretical Framework
User Study
 The computer program : Granska
 Research questions
 Data collection and methods
 Preliminary findings
Discussion
Introduction
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Interest in the use of computer support for learning
Swedish as a second language
Focus on the use of computer-language tools for writers
who can fluently write and speak in their mother tongue
Goals :
 to study how writers develop their writing practices
in the context of learning Swedish as a second
language
 to contribute to improving the design of existing
language tools for writing in learning contexts
Writing in the acquisition of second language
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Writing turns speech and language into objects of
reflection and analysis (Vygotsky, 1962; Luria, 1976)
Far from transcribing speech, writing creates the
categories in terms of which we become conscious of
speech (Olson, 1995)
Language tools for second language writers
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Computer language programs supporting free text
production available in Swedish have been developed
for native speakers:
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the grammar checker in Microsoft Word (Lingsoft)
the research prototype Scarrie (Uppsala University)
the prototype GRANSKA (Royal Institute of Technology)
Most of the computer aided language learning programs
available on the market rarely analyze learners’ written
or spoken productions
Second-language learning processes
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The acquisition and development of a second language
is regarded as a complex processes requiring the
interplay of motivation, identity, context, culture,
intellectual competence (Sjögren, 1996)
Second-language learning is viewed as a combination
of spontaneous, inductive learning with systematic,
deductive learning strategies (Laurillard, 1993)
A developmental perspective on
the use of language tools
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Language tools are viewed as artifacts that become
instruments through the writer’s activity (Rabardel, 1995)
Language errors are a source for the understanding of
how writers make sense and construct a new symbolic
system (Scott, 2001)
Written feedback is an important resource for the
writers’ language understanding and construction of a
new symbolic system (Cohen and Cavalcanti, 1990)
Pilot study on the use of Granska in
second-language writing environments
Aims :
 to study how the grammar checker, Granska,
should be adapted to second language writers’
needs
 to develop a method for assessing the use of
Granska in a naturalistic environment
Granska - a Swedish Grammar
Checker
It provides different functions such as grammar
checking and proofreading, linguistic editing
functions, language rules and help system
 It supports detection, diagnosis and correction of
language errors in the writer’s revision process
 It combines statistical and rule-based methods
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Research questions
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Does Granska support second language writers’
revision process?
What parts of Granska are most important to
improve and develop further?
Which are the research methods suitable for
studying second language writers’ free text
production?
Data collection
User
Age
Native
language
Language
level
Time
of
study
No. of
texts
Length
of
writing
Graded
texts
A
34
Spanish
Advanced
6
months
18
2240
words
4
B
37
Spanish
Intermediate
4
months
16
244
words
4
C
34
German
Advanced
2
months
1
190
words
1
Method
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Focus on free text production during the revision
process
Instructions to the users :
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”Use Granska whenever you want and when you think it will
help you”
”Save the original text and the final version revised with
Granska”
Analysis of users’ judgment of Granska’s alarms,
detections, diagnoses and correction proposals
Analysis of interviews with second language teachers
Example : two versions of the same text for
the study of users’ actions
Version 1 :
Hon skulle komma hit och träffas oss för att prata om våra gemensamma
intresse.
Diagnosis:
Proposals:
Om våra syftar på intresse är det kongruensfel
vårt gemensamma intresse
våra gemensamma intressen
Version 2 :
Hon skulle komma hit och träffas oss för att prata om våra gemensamma
intresser.
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Diagnosis:
Proposals:
Okänt ord
intressen
intressera
Teachers’ views of errors and written
feedback
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The type of errors depends much on the level of the
language reached
Common errors are : syntactical errors, word order, verb
inflection, agreement and use of prepositions
Different approaches on written feedback
Immediate written feedback and support for drafting
processes could become useful for writers
Error type
Detections
Diagnoses
Corrections
No. of
judgements
Mean
value
No. of
judgements
Mean
value
No. of
judgements
Mean
value
Typographical
0
-
0
-
0
-
Orthographical
18
4,6
18
3,9
16
4,2
Morphosynt.
4
4,0
4
3,8
3
3,7
Syntactical
13
3,5
13
3,2
8
4,5
Lexical
0
-
0
-
0
-
Semantic
0
-
0
-
0
-
Pragmatic
0
-
0
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0
-
Style
0
-
0
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0
-
All errors
35
4,1
35
3,6
27
4,2
Preliminary findings cont’
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Users repaired spelling errors without feedback
from the program
Users followed Granska’s advice if correctional
proposal was provided
Users mentioned to be satisfied with the program’s
correction proposals
Users could not understand some of the diagnoses
presented when correction proposal was not
provided
Discussion
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When should we start to adapt/redesign Granska
from what we know from the users studies ?
Which types of users should we focus on ?
How should we improve methods for collecting
and analyzing writer’s free text production?
Information about the project
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www.nada.kth.se/theory/projects/xcheck/
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www.nada.kth.se/theory/projects/granska/demo.html
Welcome! to contact us :
 [email protected]
 [email protected]