Welcome!

This site presents my research projects on how the computer can help in learning a new language.

For the past several years I have focused on developing computer assisted literacy tools. My website allows you to arrange the vocabulary of a language in a seamless sequence from easy to difficult. This can be done using several criteria. Shorter words are easier to read than longer words. Words which contain letters you have been taught are easier to read than words with many unknown letters. Words which a student understands orally are easier to read than words which they have never heard before. Once the vocabulary of a language has been analyzed, the computer can do the work of finding the appropriate words for the student's current reading level. Some children learn to read with seemingly little help, but for a significant portion, reading is a difficult task to learn. In addition, some languages have alphabets that are not suited to their phonology resulting in a confusing spelling system. English happens to be one of those. However, even in well-fitting spelling systems it can be very helpful to teach literacy by a gradual and controlled introduction to the symbols used in the language rather than exposing the student to the full range of symbols at once. This follows the principle of moving from the known to the unknown and moving from simple to complex when learning a new concept. A computer can find words which contain a restricted set of spelling patterns so that the student is not overwhelmed by all of the patterns commonly found in stories.

Watch a video demonstration of SynPhony using Haitian Kreyol.

The sounds of English
English is known for its complex sound to symbol relationships. This makes it difficult for children as well as foreigners to learn to read and spell. These pages present the English language in the most organized way possible which makes it easier to learn. These pages should be helpful to TESOL and remedial reading programs. It can also be used in primary literacy education. It uses a synthetic phonics approach to teaching the English language, but could also be used with other approaches.

I have several demo pages which implement the synthetic phonics approach to teaching literacy in non-English languages.

Sranan Tongo
Sranan Tongo is a creole language spoken in Suriname and has a simple spelling system.

Inuktituk (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari browsers only)
Inukituk is a language spoken in northern Canada and uses a syllabic writing system. This page demonstrates that the synthetic phonics literacy method can be extended to non-roman and non-alphabetic writing systems.

This page uses an advanced browser feature called css font downloading which allows your browser to display the Inuktituk syllabics font even if its not on your computer. The browser downloads the required font from the web server and uses it to display text in the desired font. So far only recent versions of Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari have implemented this feature. (Basically, most browsers except IE, so far.) So, if you want to see the Inuktituk page you must use a recent version of these great browsers. Eventually all browsers will probably implement this great feature.

Haitian Kreyol
Haitian Kreyol is the lingua franca of Haiti and has a simple spelling system.

Koine Greek
(requires a Greek Unicode font)
Learn koine Greek by reading stories which can be manipulated in a controlled manner.