Introducing SynPhony (fwd msg)

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    From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
    POSTED BY: "NORBERT RENNERT" <NORBERT.RENNERT at SIL.ORG>

    Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:51 am (PDT)

      The human brain is the most advanced pattern detector in the
universe. SynPhony is a web-based application designed to extract
and display written language patterns so that they become obvious
and thus facilitate learning to read. The only requirement is
that the language must have an alphabetically written
orthography. SynPhony can cover all the spelling conventions in a
language systematically, explicitly, and cumulatively. It can
introduce one new pattern at a time making each pattern obvious.
The application builds on previously covered patterns so that
progressively more and more of the language becomes decodable. It
can handle complex spelling systems such as English or simple
ones. This program can use a lexical database typically developed
for dictionaries and turn the data into a vernacular literacy
program. It can be used to produce wordlists for literacy primers
or for tutoring someone learning to read. The script which runs
the webpage is language agnostic so you can easily use this for
other languages. The methodology for the approach this website
takes to teaching literacy is called Synthetic Phonics; thus the
name SynPhony.

I'm developing SynPhony using Toolbox, CC, html, javascript, and
css. It's now at a stage where it can be tested by others.
Currently the pages use only client-side technology; a database
driven web-site is being dreamed of. One possible application for
this is the OLPC laptop for children in third-world countries.
(Anyone with contacts to people who could use it?)

Adapting SynPhony to another language requires several things. An
sfm lexical database, adding an extra field (or two) for storing
the words in the required format, and the ability to use CC for
several steps. I'm in the process of documenting the whole
process. For languages with a phonemic alphabet the process is
relatively quick; for languages with more complex spelling
systems it will require more work, particularly on the one field
which contains the data for SynPhony. (To fully analyze English
took me more than a year because it has a very complex spelling
system, probably more so than most other languages. Compare
Spanish and German).

I have several web pages that demonstrate SynPhony in several
languages. The one in English works the best. The German and
Greek pages need more work on the vocabulary database, so users
who know those languages might not be entirely pleased with how
they function.

SynPhony prototypes to play around with: English, German, Koine
Greek.

What SynPhony for English can do already

    * log a user in so that the page can track the progress of
multiple people
    * Four levels of vocabulary to choose from
    * level 1 words include definitions and sample sentences for
each word
    * Can control words by syllable length (1-3)
    * display cumulative wordlists at any time
    * sort words randomly
    * display words in various columns
    * change text size
    * create a page suitable for doing writing exercise with the
current vocabulary
    * create printable pages of vocabulary lists
    * covers about 150 spelling patterns in English

Possible applications for SynPhony
    * help create a primer sequence
    * create printable wordlists based on a limited number of
letters
    * homeschooling
    * early reading program
    * OLPC laptop literacy application
    * public schools
    * remedial reading program

My vision for this project is: What could be done if the browser
had access to a database with rich language information in it?
One possible answer is that it could become a personal literacy
tutor that keeps track of a student's language acquisition and
guides them as they learn. Functions such as extracting
vocabulary, administering and  keeping track of spelling tests,
finding reading material that matches the reading ability of each
particular child are just the beginning of what I think is
possible. Educational games could use this database to extract
words that are geared to a specific user's reading ability. This
could be done by developing a browser extension for Firefox that
contains a lexical database along with other tables and functions
in sqlite.

Features that haven't been realized yet but are being planned (or
dreamed of)

    * a web-based database system
    * a Firefox extension using sqlite
    * spelling practise with current vocabulary
    * cloze exercises (fill in the missing word in a sentence)
    * story database for extracting larger text chunks that match
the reading ability of a student at any stage
    * a tool for creating decodable stories
    * mark up any text in a browser according to the reading
ability of a student learning to read
    * voice recognition for listening to a student reading
    * reading assessment to rapidly assess a student's current
reading ability
    * reporting on a student's current reading ability and
progress over time
    * the option to create a new pedagogical sequence of lessons
    * API for games to use a student's literacy knowledge base

More information about SynPhony here
 . On this page are links to more information on adapting SynPhony to other
languages as well.

Any comments, questions, suggestions?

Norbert Rennert
Information Technician
Canada Institute of Linguistics
Langley, BC V2Y 1Y1
Canada
tel: 604-513-2129
fax: 604-513-2128