An adaptive distance learning environment for language teaching

The paper describes our research on building an adaptive, WWW based, agent based, long distance learning environment for academic English. One influence of the growth of the Internet is that English gradually became the main information exchange language. Therefore, we are building an academic English learning environment, especially aimed at non-native English speaking academics, to help them exchange meaningful information with their peers. Existing teaching environments on the Web have two main defects: they are not free, and/or not automatic, but based on real human teachers at the end of the line. Our aim is to have a system capable of functioning autonomously, without human interference, as a virtual, long-distance classroom, embedding the necessary tutoring functions within a set of collaborating agents that serve the student.