LANGA – Big Data for Language Learning

LANGA is a project at Copernicus Studios (Halifax, NS) that is experimenting with the use of automated speech recognition in on-line video games to assist in language learning. Over the past 2 years, the company has been developing prototypes of the game and testing them in conjunction with the NeuroCognitive Imaging Lab at Dalhousie University. A key element to both the commercial success of the product and the research supporting its efficacy is scaling from lab-based testing of small numbers of people, to on-line delivery that supports thousands and possibly millions of users. In scaling to large numbers of users, we need to maintain the ability to test changes to the games and rapidly and accurately visualize the results of these tests. To enable this, we require the development of a robust and scalable database architecture (“back end”) to store user profiles and gameplay data. This database will need to be designed around both the needs of the game itself (e.g., tracking users and their progress), the unique demands of the speech recognition technology (storing sound files and speech recognition data).

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Stan Matwin

Student:

Sreejith Puthiyamadathil Gopalakrishnan

Partner:

Copernicus Studios Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Digital media

University:

Dalhousie University