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<Paper uid="H01-1075">
  <Title>Now PPRICE Speech and Language</Title>
  <Section position="3" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="metho">
    <SectionTitle>
2. SUP'S APPROACH
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> SUP targets the stage at which children have learned the letter to sound rules but are still struggling to gain vocabulary and fluency.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> This stage has sometimes been called the transition from 'learning to read' to 'reading to learn' and comes just after the stage requiring explicit pronunciation and vocabulary tutoring, provided by Mostow's Project Listen at CMU and other reading software. At this stage in reading development, language skills are usually too poor to make traditional dictionaries much of a help. Dictionaries disrupt the child's focus on the text being read, offer too many definitions, and usually provide definitions that are harder for the child to read than the original text. Instead, SUP provides a generalized 'dictionary', the Reading Resource, to give immediate context specific help when needed, much the way a human reading coach might intervene. &amp;quot;SUPplementing&amp;quot; text with the Reading Resource, which includes word definitions, sample sentences, graphics and multimedia can create an engaging environment for learning. However, the immediacy and contextspecificity of this resource aims to maintain the child's focus on the material being read. Becoming engaged in the text itself is the real goal of reading. SUPplementation can make texts accessible to children that would otherwise be above their reading level, so that the content of the text can draw them into the desire to read.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge grow with experience of more words in more contexts.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3">  asked for a display of how well the selection was read.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="4"> SUP has developed a modular architecture that allows for rapid reconfiguration: * The current demonstration uses Microsoft speech recognition software. However, the architecture supports the use of other recognizers, and we have experimented with others for use on other platforms.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="5"> * The audio outputs can be from recorded waveforms or, for maximum flexibility, can use a text to speech synthesis system.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="6"> * Any text can flow through the system for reading practice.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="7"> Although explicit measures, such as a quiz to assess comprehension or vocabulary, can be included, several automatic measures are important by-products of use of the tool:</Paragraph>
  </Section>
  <Section position="4" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="metho">
    <SectionTitle>
3. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> Of course, such software will not help unless it gets into the hands of the children who need it. Therefore, an important strategy of the company is to support as many different platforms as possible to enable this goal. The modular architecture of the system facilitates transition to various platforms. Similarly, to be of maximal interest to the most children, we need as much appealing content as possible. In the area of human language technology, we hope such technology will evolve to automatically provide:</Paragraph>
  </Section>
  <Section position="5" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="metho">
    <SectionTitle>
* Context-specific definitions
* Context-specific and child-specific synonyms
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> * Rewriting of complex phrases into simpler ones Solving these problems completely is a major research project. However, we believe that with careful matchmaking between the technical possibilities and the real needs of beginning readers that progress can be made in the near term.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> We hope that experience in the usability trials, just beginning, will also help us to plan similar products for adult language learners and learners of English as a second language. Reading is still the principal way that people learn information. In this information age, reading well is crucial to the individual and to society.</Paragraph>
  </Section>
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