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We describe an ongoing project, in which an informally organised international consortium is using the open source LARA platform to create multimodal annotated editions of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le petit prince in multiple languages, so far French, English, Italian, Icelandic, Irish, Japanese, Polish, Farsi and Mandarin. LARA versions of the book include integrated audio and translations and an automatically generated lemma-based concordance, and are freely available online. We describe the methods used to construct the various versions. In some cases, work for a given language was simply divided by type, typically with one person adding translations and another recording audio. In other languages, we experimented with crowdsourcing methods, splitting the text into chapter-sized units and using the LARA platform to distribute these to multiple annotators, then combining the results at the end. Finally, we report an initial classroom study, where the French version was used by intermediate-level Australian students of French.

Modern language learning applications have become ‘smarter’ and ‘intelligent’ by including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to collect different kinds of data. This data can be used for analysis on a microscopic and/or macroscopic level to provide granulation of knowledge. We analyzed 1,213 French language learner data over a 30-day period, publicly available from Duolingo, to compare the progression of individual learners (microscopic granularity) and large groups of learners (macroscopic granularity). Using network modeling, we compared patterns of individual learners against one another and that of a learning community and determined what groups of learners typically practice across communities. Preliminary results suggest how applications for L2 learning can be designed to create an optimal path for learning.

We present a study in which multimedia alphabet books were constructed for ten languages using the Learning And Reading Assistant (LARA) platform. We describe the alphabet books we built, the different design features they instantiate, and an initial evaluation using an anonymous online questionnaire. Links are provided to the books themselves, which are freely available on the web.

We argue that museums presenting exhibits of ancient texts may be able to benefit from accompanying them with annotated electronic versions. We present a short study using two sample annotated texts built using the Learning And Reading Assistant (LARA) platform for a fragment of an Old Norse manuscript and an inscription in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs respectively. The results of an online questionnaire suggested that people already interested in ancient languages would view the idea very positively.

The 2022 EUROCALL conference was held in Reykjavik on 17-19 August 2022 as a fully online event hosted by the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute for Foreign Languages, the University of Iceland, and the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. It was preceded by an online workshop Digital Literacies in a Data-Driven World held on 16 August 2022 hosted by Nicky Hockly, director of pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an award-winning online training and development organisation.

We are developing a Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) system for learners of Icelandic as a second and foreign language (L2). Based on pre-designed tasks in pronunciation exercises, this system will provide corrective feedback on learners’ speech. One of the main features we are implementing is a new method for automatic pronunciation scoring to provide immediate feedback on learners’ errors. We report promising results for a pilot study of this method in Norwegian, where the pronunciation score successfully distinguishes between native speakers and adult learners, and we discuss how this method informs our continued development of Icelandic CAPT.

This article presents results from a human-centred approach study to designing a mobile app TALAÐU!, which aims at assisting learners of Icelandic as a second language (L2) with spoken language practice. The main goal of the app would be to encourage learners to have real-life conversations with Icelandic speakers by accomplishing conversational missions. In the first stage of development, a qualitative deep-method needs study in the form of interviews was conducted with 19 migrants from 14 different countries, who permanently live in Iceland. Results indicated that learners have five core needs for practising spoken language: connection, confidence, clarity, growth, and convenience. Based on different learning styles and confidence in speaking rather than language ability, three main learner profiles were indicated: ‘diving in’, ‘learning with caution’ and ‘dipping a toe’. Both the learners’ needs and the profiles would drive the design of the learning app to personalise and maximise the learner experience with practising spoken L2. This human-centred study approach suggests an innovative strategy in designing a learning app for practising L2 in a specific language and culture environment.

A popular idea in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is to use multimodal annotated texts, with annotations typically including embedded audio and translations, to support L2 learning through reading. An important question is how to create the audio, which can be done either through human recording or by a Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesis engine. We may reasonably expect TTS to be quicker and easier, but humans to be of higher quality. Here, we report a study using the open-source LARA platform and ten languages. Samples of LARA audio totaling about three and a half minutes were provided for each language in both human and TTS form; subjects used a web form to compare different versions of the same item and rate the voices as a whole. Although human voice was more often preferred, TTS achieved higher ratings in some languages and was close in others.

This article presents two studies performed on 14 immigrant families with children aged one to 16; 12 families in Iceland and two Icelandic families living abroad. Lack of exposure and availability of online materials for learning Icelandic as an L2 may affect what skills children can practise at home. This study represents 32 children aged one to 16, all of whom practise Icelandic (L2) at home. Data regarding use and availability of online and offline learning materials were collected by means of a survey containing both open-ended and closed questions. A comprehensive, central directory of available materials was created in parallel as a desktop research. These studies reveal that Icelandic is spoken in most homes but children require further development of specific language skills, predominantly reading. Families consider reading, writing, and vocabulary to be the most important skills to practise, while grammar, speaking, and listening take lower priority. Children’s books are the most frequently used learning material, while textbooks, audiobooks, and other language programmes or apps are used less frequently. TV, films, and online channels (e.g. YouTube) are used to provide language exposure.

We argue that LARA, a new web platform that supports easy conversion of text into an online multimedia form designed to support non-native readers, is a good match to the task of creating high-quality resources useful for languages in the revivalistics spectrum. We illustrate with initial case studies in three widely different endangered/revival languages: Irish (Gaelic); Icelandic Sign Language (ÍTM); and Barngarla, a reclaimed Australian Aboriginal language. The exposition is presented from a language community perspective. Links are given to examples of LARA resources constructed for each language.

In this article, the developers of seven Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs), Icelandic Online (IOL, https://icelandiconline.com/), describe the technological and pedagogical principles that have contributed to the program’s longevity. Development began in 2001 with a courseware system later upgraded to a multiplatform app. Over 80,000 users have completed one or more of the curated and pedagogically driven courses, which are monitored by a tracking system. The tracking system and follow-up surveys generate unique, large-scale empirical data enabling sustained engagement with participants’ views and behaviors as they go through the courses, some of which are offered in three different delivery modes. Finally, further development projects based on the versatile IOL non-language specific, multiplatform system are presented, including Virtual Reality (VR) projects, courses in other languages, and L2 literacy courses for children.

Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) is an open source platform that enables conversion of plain texts into an interactive multimedia form designed to support second- and foreign-language (L2) learners. In this workshop, we illustrate the open source aspects using collaborative work carried out during a six-week summer project at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. Three undergraduate level students extended the platform in different directions in cooperation with other members of the international LARA team. The three subprojects were respectively concerned with adding automatically generated flashcards, adding multimedia versions of poetic texts in the archaic language Old Norse, and extending LARA to allow the inclusion of sign language content in Icelandic sign language – Íslenskt TáknMál (ÍTM). All three reached successful conclusions.

We describe how the open-source Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) platform was used to convert a classic Old Norse text, the Völuspá, into an interactive online form. The LARA version includes high-quality recorded audio, translations, notes on key words and phrases, an automatically generated concordance, and links to other online resources. The interactive text was created in two different editions, one with Modern Icelandic translations designed to support Icelandic school students who read the poem as a set text, and one with English translations designed for English readers with basic Old Norse who wish to able to appreciate the poem in the original as a piece of literature. Initial feedback from groups has been positive.

The theme selected for the 2019 EuroCALL conference held in Louvain-la-Neuve was ‘CALL and complexity’. As languages are known to be intrinsically and linguistically complex, as are the many determinants of learning (additional) languages, complexity is viewed as a challenge to be embraced collectively. The 2019 conference allowed us to pay tribute to providers of CALL solutions and to recognize the complexity of their task. We hope you will enjoy reading this volume as it offers a rich glimpse into the numerous debates that took place during EuroCALL 2019. We look forward to continuing those debates and discussions with you at the next EuroCALL conferences!

This paper presents a brief overview of LARA (Learning And Reading Assistant), an open source online tool that has been under development since summer 2018. LARA currently contains a corpus of about 25 texts in ten languages and a crowdsourcing model used to expand the corpus. The central goal is to provide support for improving second language (L2) reading comprehension. The focus here is on the development of Icelandic content and its use during pilot testing amongst adult L2 learners of Icelandic. Preliminary feedback from users, while mostly positive, contained suggestions on how the tool might be improved.

International audience; We present enetCollect, a large European network project funded as a COST Action, that sets ground for combining crowdsourcing with IT technologies used in areas such as language learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP). This project tackles a major challenge of bringing together interdisciplinary researchers to foster language learning of all European citizens from diverse socio-demographic, cultural, educational and linguistic backgrounds. It aims at unlocking a crowdsourcing potential available for all languages, including less widely spoken languages, in order to create language resources and achieve a coverage of material for teaching the languages. It will meet its research and capacity-building goals by creating an international community of researchers that will work on producing a comprehensive theoretical framework and running prototypical experiments to benefit a wide range of users and languages, while considering ethical, legal and business issues. This article informs about its objectives, expected impact and strategic organisation that contribute to reaching its flexible and sustainable success goals.

Both dialogue systems and chatbots aim at putting into action communication between humans and computers. However, instead of focusing on sophisticated techniques to perform natural language understanding, as the former usually do, chatbots seek to mimic conversation. Since Eliza, the first chatbot ever, developed in 1966, there were many interesting ideas explored by the chatbots' community. Actually, more than just ideas, some chatbots' developers also provide free resources, including tools and large-scale corpora. It is our opinion that this know-how and materials should not be neglected, as they might be put to use in the human-computer communication field (and some authors already do it). Thus, in this paper we present a historical overview of the chatbots' developments, we review what we consider to be the main contributions of this community, and we point to some possible ways of coupling these with current work in the human-computer communication research line., 22 pages, 1 figure