ABSTRACT

This chapter describes an approach for automatically adapting and personalizing world language curriculum materials based on a model of each learner's knowledge and skill in using the language. The model takes into account the learner's history of language use as well as periods of disuse. It identifies which language competencies are at risk of decay, so that the personalized curriculum can focus on helping learners quickly recover those competencies. The approach is particularly valuable for learners who wish to recover their language skills quickly prior to going abroad. It is equally applicable to instructional settings where learners come with varied backgrounds and experience using the language, learn at different rates, and have mastered the target language competencies to differing degrees, making them differentially susceptible to language attrition.