Transforming grammar checking technology into a learning environment for second language writing

Abstract

This paper focuses on the transformation of grammar checking technology into a learning environment for second language writing. Our starting point is a grammar checker for Swedish, called Granska. Two studies have been conducted aimed at exploring the use of computer support for writing in the context of second language learning. In the first study, we developed a methodology to study naturalistic writing, and the impact of the grammar checker on the writer's text. In the second study, we were interested in how the methodology developed earlier would work in an educational setting. The problems with false alarms and limited recall are definitely a sensitive issue in the context of second language learners and educational settings. Both learners and teachers are concerned about the false alarms, and without perfectly working text analyzers, new strategies for dealing with these problems have to be further explored and developed together with learners and teachers.

Proceedings of the 17th Conference of the European Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics: System Demonstrations

“…Bryant et al, 2022). GEC tools have a wide range of applications, including helping native speakers to correct their occasional mistakes, assisting language learners (Knutsson et al, 2003;Chollampatt et al, 2016;Nadejde and Tetreault, 2019;Katinskaia and Yangarber, 2021), and improving the quality of other 1 The source code and a video demonstration of ALLECS can be accessed at https://github.com/nusnlp/ALLECS. natural language processing (NLP) tasks (Yin et al, 2020;Liao et al, 2022).…”

Using Instructional Software to Improve Oral Performance of Taiwanese Speakers of English in Higher Education

“…Knutsson, Pargman, and Eklundh (2003) mentioned that language technology applied in second language writing may be a good tool for assisting learners, but two facts have to be considered: the existence of false alarms generated by the program and the limited recall of important linguistic constructions in learners' texts. Second language learners who get false alarms and spend too much time focusing on them will consequently access the wrong context and may adopt inappropriate concepts regarding language technology.…”

“…Similarly, Knutsson et al (2003) conducted two studies focusing on using the computer application Granska, a Swedish grammar checker developed by the Royal Institute of Technology as a tool to support the writing of learners who use Swedish as a foreign language. The studies found that learners still encounter some difficulties when using this program, but language tools can help learners focus on form.…”

Is the sky pure today? AwkChecker

“…In their work developing a Swedish grammar checker, Knutsson et al studied adoption practices of their grammar checker by non-native speakers [12,13]. Based on their study, they developed a set of guidelines for the design of linguistic tools for NNSs.…”