The lexical CALL programs of Didascalia comprise a major part of our R&D over the past ten years. After a critical look at the subdivision in qualitative generations of software, the prin-ciple of external versatility is explained as the internal adaptability of a program to external criteria. This adaptability is achieved through a selection system of contents and strategies within a multiple environment model. Other didactic aspects are finally discussed, such as the creation of tailor-made menus, the systematisation of lexical progression, the use of translation, and the embedding of words into semantic reply-forms with a high learning impact, as a middle course between an atomised approach and a whole-language approach.
By order of the Civil Service Commission of Belgium, Didascalia, a research group at the University of Antwerp, has developed an adaptive system for evaluating second language proficiency. Therefore we have investigated to what extent language proficiency can be measured by computer. We created an adaptive model based on the following two principles. First we ranged the test items on a difficulty scale, using the ponderation and calibration of their distinctive features. Secondly, the test places the examinees on a proficiency scale. Therefore we developed a model based on probability and information theory. The first module of the ATLAS test is currently in use and assesses Approximately 15,000 civil servants for selection and promotion yearly.
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