Online Information Retrieval for language learning

Abstract

The reading material used in a language learning classroom should ideally be rich in terms of the grammatical constructions and vocabulary to be taught and in line with the learner's interests. We developed an online Information Retrieval system that helps teachers search for texts appropriate in form, content, and reading level. It identifies the 87 grammatical constructions spelled out in the official English language curriculum of schools in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The tool incorporates a classical efficient algorithm for reranking the results by assigning weights to selected constructions and prioritizing the documents containing them. Supplemented by an interactive visualization module, it allows for a multifaceted presentation and analysis of the retrieved documents.