Spanish Resource Grammar version 2023

We present the latest version of the Spanish Resource Grammar (SRG). The new SRG uses the recent version of Freeling morphological analyzer and tagger and is accompanied by a manually verified treebank and a list of documented issues. We also present the grammar's coverage and overgeneration on a small portion of a learner corpus, an entirely new research line with respect to the SRG. The grammar can be used for linguistic research, such as for empirically driven development of syntactic theory, and in natural language processing applications such as computer-assisted language learning. Finally, as the treebanks grow, they can be used for training high-quality semantic parsers and other systems which may benefit from precise and detailed semantics.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Automating question generation and marking of language learning exercises for isiZulu

Increase in isiZulu language learning is hampered by the predominantly manual approach to creating and marking homework and test exercises. Extant computer-assisted language learning platforms cannot handle the intricacies of agglutination in isiZulu and related languages. We seek to address this by designing a controlled natural language-based exercise generator and marker for isiZulu. This consists of question and answer sentence templates for exercise types, reusable algorithm snippets as grammar library, a small corpus of words and sentences to be used by the system, a constrained sentence generator to combine the right type of words, and finally the exercise creation and automated marking system. The preliminary evaluation shows encouraging results

Detecting grammatical errors with treebank-induced, probabilistic parsers

Today's grammar checkers often use hand-crafted rule systems that define acceptable language. The development of such rule systems is labour-intensive and has to be repeated for each language. At the same time, grammars automatically induced from syntactically annotated corpora (treebanks) are successfully employed in other applications, for example text understanding and machine translation. At first glance, treebank-induced grammars seem to be unsuitable for grammar checking as they massively over-generate and fail to reject ungrammatical input due to their high robustness. We present three new methods for judging the grammaticality of a sentence with probabilistic, treebank-induced grammars, demonstrating that such grammars can be successfully applied to automatically judge the grammaticality of an input string. Our best-performing method exploits the differences between parse results for grammars trained on grammatical and ungrammatical treebanks. The second approach builds an estimator of the probability of the most likely parse using grammatical training data that has previously been parsed and annotated with parse probabilities. If the estimated probability of an input sentence (whose grammaticality is to be judged by the system) is higher by a certain amount than the actual parse probability, the sentence is flagged as ungrammatical. The third approach extracts discriminative parse tree fragments in the form of CFG rules from parsed grammatical and ungrammatical corpora and trains a binary classifier to distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical sentences. The three approaches are evaluated on a large test set of grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. The ungrammatical test set is generated automatically by inserting common grammatical errors into the British National Corpus. The results are compared to two traditional approaches, one that uses a hand-crafted, discriminative grammar, the XLE ParGram English LFG, and one based on part-of-speech n-grams. In addition, the baseline methods and the new methods are combined in a machine learning-based framework, yielding further improvements

Analytical reasoning with multiple external representations

This thesis presents work on analytical reasoning with external representations (ERs) using problems similar to those used in the US GRE college-entrance examination. The work investigates the factors associated with effective ER use in situations where subjects select, construct and reason with their own ERs. Practically all previous work has tended to focus solely upon performance rather than process. In this thesis the emphasis is upon cognitive processes during the entire time-course of reasoning with ERs, from problem comprehension through to answer selection. A background to the work is provided by 2 comprehensive reviews of: 1.) previous research on ERs and reasoning and 2.) the cognitive and semantic properties of ERs. Results from three empirical studies are reported. The first study examined a large corpus of 'workscratchings' produced by subjects as they solved paper and pencil-based analytical reasoning problems under test conditions. The workscratching ERs showed great diversity between and within subjects and across a range of problems. They included lists, various kinds of table, set diagrams, node and arc diagrams, first-order and propositioned logic, plans and natural language. It is shown that problem-solving performance is related to the type of ER used in the solution. The second study utilised a computer-based system (switchERI). The system administered analytical reasoning problems and provided a. range of ER construction environments for the subject to choose and switch between. User-system interactions were recorded dynamically during problem solving. This methodology permitted microanalyses of the cognitive events at each stage during the time-course of problem solving. A process account of analytical reasoning with ERs is developed in which five major stages are identified - problem comprehension, ER selection, ER construction, read-off from the ER and answer selection/responding. A range of common slips and misconceptions are identified at each stage. The results show, inter alia, that subjects whose responses are consistent with their ERs perform better than subjects whose responses are inconsistent with their ERs even if the ER is partially incorrect. The data from the workscratching analysis and switchERI study informed the design of' switchERII, a second system. SwitchERII incorporates a. representation of the semantics of Euler's Circles, dynamically parses the user's representation and provides feedback and advice. A third study was conducted with the switchERII system. Few, if any, studies to date have attempted to relate subjects' prior knowledge of ER formalisms to their reasoning performance. Subjects' prior knowledge of ER formalisms was assessed in both switchER studies. It was observed that subjects' performance on representation interpretation tasks does not necessarily predict their performance in conditions where they select and construct their own representations. The reasons for the decoupling are discussed. Data from all three studies show that subjects often utilise multiple representations in their solutions, either concurrently or serially via. ER switching. Two distinctly different types of switching were observed. One kind ('thrashing') is associated with poorer performance and reflects less comprehensive prior knowledge, inability to select au appropriate ER and hazy problem comprehension. Judicious switching, on the other hand, is associated with high levels of problem comprehension and skilled matching of the ERs' properties to changing task demands. It is claimed that effective reasoning with ERs involves complex interactions between at least three factors: (a.) within-subject variables such as the subject's representational repertoire (prior knowledge) and representational modality preferences (cognitive style); (b.) skill at overcoming a variety of barriers to comprehension and an ability to discern the salient attributes and characteristics of different problem types and (c.) an understanding of the semantic and cognitive properties of graphical and non-graphical ERs coupled with an ability to match those properties to the problem's task demands. It is suggested that the role of externalisation in reasoning with ERs may be to facilitate the swapping of information between cognitive subsystems. A mechanism by which the use of diagrammatic ERs may facilitate self-explanation is also proposed. The thesis concludes with an argument in favour of a domain-independent 'ER curriculum'. It is suggested that direct instruction in the use of a range of ERs might equip students with wider representational repertoires and hence allow them more scope to indulge their representational preferences. Finally, several directions for future work are proposed. These include extending the representational semantics of switchERII, evaluating various types of system feedback and implementing a mechanism for checking for slips during read-off from ERs

Designing Embodied Interactive Software Agents for E-Learning: Principles, Components, and Roles

Embodied interactive software agents are complex autonomous, adaptive, and social software systems with a digital embodiment that enables them to act on and react to other entities (users, objects, and other agents) in their environment through bodily actions, which include the use of verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviors in face-to-face interactions with the user. These agents have been developed for various roles in different application domains, in which they perform tasks that have been assigned to them by their developers or delegated to them by their users or by other agents. In computer-assisted learning, embodied interactive pedagogical software agents have the general task to promote human learning by working with students (and other agents) in computer-based learning environments, among them e-learning platforms based on Internet technologies, such as the Virtual Linguistics Campus (www.linguistics-online.com). In these environments, pedagogical agents provide contextualized, qualified, personalized, and timely assistance, cooperation, instruction, motivation, and services for both individual learners and groups of learners. This thesis develops a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and user-oriented view of the design of embodied interactive pedagogical software agents, which integrates theoretical and practical insights from various academic and other fields. The research intends to contribute to the scientific understanding of issues, methods, theories, and technologies that are involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of embodied interactive software agents for different roles in e-learning and other areas. For developers, the thesis provides sixteen basic principles (Added Value, Perceptible Qualities, Balanced Design, Coherence, Consistency, Completeness, Comprehensibility, Individuality, Variability, Communicative Ability, Modularity, Teamwork, Participatory Design, Role Awareness, Cultural Awareness, and Relationship Building) plus a large number of specific guidelines for the design of embodied interactive software agents and their components. Furthermore, it offers critical reviews of theories, concepts, approaches, and technologies from different areas and disciplines that are relevant to agent design. Finally, it discusses three pedagogical agent roles (virtual native speaker, coach, and peer) in the scenario of the linguistic fieldwork classes on the Virtual Linguistics Campus and presents detailed considerations for the design of an agent for one of these roles (the virtual native speaker)

An institution-based enquiry into concepts of proficiency, automaticity and second-language learning among dyslexic students

It is, for some, 'common knowledge' that dyslexic students cannot master a foreign language 'because' they cannot master their own. This study enquires into the assumption, and the 'because', above, and seeks other explanatory routes for dyslexic university students' difficulties with foreign language learning. Building on earlier work concerned with notions of 'automaticity' in relation to concepts of 'proficiency' in proficiency and dyslexia literatures, it relates these directly to second language teaching/learning concepts and discusses this in relation to 'phronetic', 'professional' and tacit' views of knowledge. The empirical part of the study comprises cross-comparison of four narrative sources: the narratives of a dozen dyslexic students engaged in a semi-structured, in-depth interview concerning their language difficulty and how they view it; a second narrative relating the voices of the advisors most directly linked to dyslexic language learners in the institution, also including past and future difficulties of some dyslexic students who may face a study year abroad, e.g. on Erasmus and similar schemes; a third interview with the then current head of the unit dealing with both English as a Foreign Language, and Modern Foreign Languages; and the over-arching narrative of the researcher – his story in conducting this study. Within this framework, the research uncovers how, at a practical level as well as theoretically, phronetic, teaching-learning and exceptional language-acquisition 'knowledge' may be open to subversion from several quarters: the pragmatics and economics of 3rd-level EFL and MFL1 language teaching; transposing child language acquisition concepts onto adult language learning ones; the cross- and/or mismatching of these with dyslexia ones; and the possible collision between some areas of professional knowledge – tacit or otherwise. The research shows how for the 'institutional dyslexics' concerned, and sometimes despite their advisors, the unit's academic director and the institution, automaticity is anterior to proficiency and agency is anterior to automaticity. Moreover reversing this, discovering or rediscovering their sense of agency allows certain of the dyslexic participants to attain a qualified measure of automaticity in their language studies and hence, of proficiency. These findings have important implications for those engaged in second language teaching and learning. The organisation of the thesis is as follows: in a first chapter which the researcher introduces with a short autobiography and an account of how the research came about, a broadly descriptive and factual introduction to the piece then summarises previous work in the doctoral degree particularly the critical analytical study, focusing the research questions, and discussing the relationship between methodology and methods, and begins a consideration of what a 'case' is, and what is the case here. Chapter 2 expands the theoretical focus with a discussion of the notion of coherentism and the notion of 'fit', and introduces issues in narrativity and in phronesis. Chapter 3 addresses understandings and terminologies in 'communicative' language teaching, cross-mapping these to both dyslexia and 'proficiency' issues previously discussed. Chapter 4 explores the data, and begins an assessment of the 'fit' between the respondents. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises and discusses the 'findings' of the research – what emerges from the research questions and what from their interpretation; how theoretical understandings now 'fit', or not; what else emerged during the study; what constitutes a finding; and returning to Chapter 1, asks to what extent the study is a foundationalist 'case' which can or should be 'generalisable'. A short discussion of further research avenues is presented

Proceedings of The Multi-Agent Logics, Languages, and Organisations Federated Workshops (MALLOW 2010)

http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-627/allproceedings.pdfInternational audienceMALLOW-2010 is a third edition of a series initiated in 2007 in Durham, and pursued in 2009 in Turin. The objective, as initially stated, is to "provide a venue where: the cost of participation was minimum; participants were able to attend various workshops, so fostering collaboration and cross-fertilization; there was a friendly atmosphere and plenty of time for networking, by maximizing the time participants spent together"

Certifications of Critical Systems – The CECRIS Experience

In recent years, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted, both in industry and academia, to the development, validation and verification of critical systems, i.e. those systems whose malfunctions or failures reach a critical level both in terms of risks to human life as well as having a large economic impact.Certifications of Critical Systems – The CECRIS Experience documents the main insights on Cost Effective Verification and Validation processes that were gained during work in the European Research Project CECRIS (acronym for Certification of Critical Systems). The objective of the research was to tackle the challenges of certification by focusing on those aspects that turn out to be more difficult/important for current and future critical systems industry: the effective use of methodologies, processes and tools.The CECRIS project took a step forward in the growing field of development, verification and validation and certification of critical systems. It focused on the more difficult/important aspects of critical system development, verification and validation and certification process. Starting from both the scientific and industrial state of the art methodologies for system development and the impact of their usage on the verification and validation and certification of critical systems, the project aimed at developing strategies and techniques supported by automatic or semi-automatic tools and methods for these activities, setting guidelines to support engineers during the planning of the verification and validation phases