Tactical Language Detection and Modeling of Learner Speech Errors: The case of Arabic tactical language training for American English speakers

Abstract

The Tactical Language Training System (TLTS) is a speech-enabled computer learning environment designed to teach Arabic spoken communication to American English speakers (and is described in a companion paper(Johnson et al, 2004)). This paper elaborates upon the modeling and detection of learner speech errors along multiple levels of linguistic details ranging from segmental to lexico-semantic aspects. Detecting learner errors enables providing tailored pedagogical feedback in TLTS. 1