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Multi-Media does not, just by itself, guarantee accelerated learning and enhanced motivation unless there is a clear pedagogical progression and learning strategy. The authors describe and analyze the didactic dimensions to be considered when designing a multi-media tool, based on their own experience as software authors and language trainers. Key words: CD-Rom development, crossing subject boundaries, didactic considerations, language learning technologies, multi-media

We used TACT computer software to teach Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness to BA (Hons) students at the University of Luton in England. Conrad's novel is one of the texts used in the 'Language and New Literatures' modules (units). In these modules we combine analytical approaches to literary texts with linguistic methods. We used TACT to reinforce the understanding of the text of Heart of Darkness achieved through such a combination of methods. An exposure to the computer-based approaches to the text described in this article made the students' interaction with the text a more complex and rewarding experience. Key words: wordlist, lexical analysis, semantic fields, collocate display, distribution display, index display, KWIC (Key Word In Context) display, text display, literary criticism, aesthetics of printed text

In this paper an interactive video system for language learning will be discussed. The various parts and media contained in the system are connected by a multitude of links which lend themselves to explorative learning. Particular attention is given to the way the grammar section is incorporated and how it is accessed. Key words: language learning, interactive video, hypermedia, explorative learning, communicative approach, learner strategies, dynamic links, customized grammar screens

The use of metacognitive strategies of learning and instruction such as content abstracts or previews, subtitles and captioning (on-screen foreign language subtitles) have been recurrent pedagogical tools for facilitating foreign language (L2) instruction. New technology has broadened their scope and multiplied the ways in which they can be used in L2 computer-based applications. A pilot test was carried out using a hypermedia instructional application for Spanish: 'Operacion Futuro.' The test addresses the question of how two types of metacognitive strategies, written and spoken Advance Organizers (AOs) and verbatim Captioning (CP) may facilitate L2 comprehension and recall. Key words: computer-based learning, foreign language, hypermedia applications, interactive video, instructional technology, Latin American culture, Spanish language

This article describes an intelligent computer-assisted language instruction system that is designed to teach principles of syntactic style to students of English. Unlike conventional style checkers, the system performs a complete syntactic analysis of its input, and takes the student's stylistic intent into account when providing a diagnosis. Named STASEL for Stylistic Treatment At the Sentence Level, the system is specifically developed for the teaching of style, and makes use of artificial intelligence techniques in natural language processing to analyze free-form input sentences interactively. An important contribution of STASEL is its ability to provide stylistic guidance according to the specific writing goals of clarity and conciseness. In an attempt to remedy some of the deficiencies of existing instructional software, STASEL's design demonstrates how stylistic instruction can be effectively computerized, while laying the groundwork for the creation of intelligent tutoring systems for teaching writing.

In one particular type of computerized language-learning simulation, the computer takes on the role of a participant in the target language conversations. This type of simulation has been called a computer-assisted language-learning conversational simulation (CALL CS). We argue that the validity of a CALL CS (from the language teacher's point of view) depends on its structure, whereas its reliability (necessary for the willing suspension of disbelief by the language learner) derives from an absence of highly disruptive discourse disjunctures, or communicative breakdowns, as defined by Winograd and Flores.

The advent of multimedia, which permits the integration of motion video in the computer environment, offers an opportunity to transform profoundly language-learning software. Interactive learning programs can now be truly communicative-based, because powerful computational tools allow learners to work with authentic materials that otherwise would be overwhelming. Video materials created from the outset with interactive objectives most fully exploit the potential of this emerging medium. DIRECTION PARIS and NO RECUERDO, both components of the Athena Language Learning Project at MIT, embody this design philosophy.

Though there are good reasons to improve instruction in pronunciation, the teaching of pronunciation has lost popularity among language teachers. This is because the traditional indirect analyses of sounds according to places and manners of articulation are clumsy when applied to classroom teaching. By shifting the focus of instruction to the direct feedback of real-time acoustic analysis in the visual mode, instructors are free from the complex and often unproductive terminology of articulatory phonetics, and students are free from the burden of translating instructors' general comments such as 'try again' or 'repeat after me' into plans for specific changes.