Twasebook: a "crowdsourced phrasebook" for language learners using Twitter

Abstract

We present Twasebook, a web application aimed at learners of foreign languages. Based on a learner's search terms, Twasebook identifies relevant status updates from Twitter in the learner's target language(s) as examples of everyday vocabulary. Twasebook therefore represents a proof of concept application designed to explore the feasibility of utilizing the vast amounts of open content generated by social networking tools within the context of language learning. In this paper, we present the motivation behind Twasebook, a brief description of how the application works, and our plans for future development.