LARA: an extensible open source platform for learning languages by reading

Abstract

Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) is an open source platform that enables conversion of plain texts into an interactive multimedia form designed to support second- and foreign-language (L2) learners. In this workshop, we illustrate the open source aspects using collaborative work carried out during a six-week summer project at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. Three undergraduate level students extended the platform in different directions in cooperation with other members of the international LARA team. The three subprojects were respectively concerned with adding automatically generated flashcards, adding multimedia versions of poetic texts in the archaic language Old Norse, and extending LARA to allow the inclusion of sign language content in Icelandic sign language – Íslenskt TáknMál (ÍTM). All three reached successful conclusions.