syllabus

Linguistics 384
Language and Computers
Autumn 2005

Course goals

In the past decade, the widening use of computers has had a profound influence on the way ordinary people communicate, search and store information. For the overwhelming majority of people and situations, the natural vehicle for such information is natural language. Text and to a lesser extent speech are crucial encoding formats for the information revolution.

In this course, you will be given insight into the fundamentals of how computers are used to represent, process and organize textual and spoken information, as well as tips on how to effectively integrate this knowledge into working practice. We will cover the theory and practice of human language technology. Topics include text encoding, search technology, tools for writing support, machine translation, dialog systems, computer aided language learning and the social context of language technology.

Instructor:

Xiaofei Lu

Office:

218 Oxley Hall

Phone:

292-3802

E-mail:

xflu AT ling DOT osu DOT edu (replace AT and DOT accordingly and remove spaces)

Office hours:

T 2:30pm-3:18pm

R 2:30pm-3:18pm

Meeting time:

TR 3:30pm-5:18pm

Classroom:

040 Page Hall

Course website:

http://ling.osu.edu/~xflu/384

Credits:

Course prerequisites:

none

Readings:

There is no textbook for this course, but there will be online readings assigned periodically (see course links page at http://ling.osu.edu/~xflu/384/384links.html).

I will distribute slides in class for each unit. These will also be available on the web after the class in which they are first distributed. These slides are meant to aid classroom discussion and cannot replace actually being in class.

Course requirements:

There will be various reading selections throughout the quarter, but most of the material will be introduced solely in the classroom. There will be roughly one online quiz per week, to ensure the material covered in class is mastered. And there will be 5 homework assignments (exercise sheets). These assignments give the opportunity to explore new aspects of the topics discussed in class.

Grading

Grades will be based on in-class activities (7%), participation (3%), quizzes (20%), homeworks (30%), a midterm exam (20%), and a final examination (20%).

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES 7%

PARTICIPATION 3%

QUIZZES 20% (8@2.5% each)

HOMEWORKS 30% (5@6% each)

MIDTERM 20%

FINAL 20%

There will be a number of in-class group activities throughout the quarter, in which I will ask you to work on a small problem set in groups of 2-3 people. Members of the same group will receive the same grade for an activity.
Homework assignments are due by the beginning of each class (3:30pm). You are expected to work independently on the homework assignments. Your homework grade will be based on both quality and effort.
Quizzes are administered through WebCT (http://class.osu.edu) and are due by midnight of the day indicated. They will be shut off once the deadline is reached. You will have ample time to complete the quiz, so DO NOT PUT IT OFF TO THE LAST MINUTE!
Note: I will try my best to remind you when you have a quiz due, but in case I forget, remember that it is your responsibility to keep up with the syllabus.
Because homeworks, quizzes, and exams reflect material covered in class and because there will be many in-class activities, attendance is essential for doing well in the class.
If you feel that I have graded anything incorrectly or improperly, please contact me outside of class. I will be happy to address your concerns.

Grading scale

(Scores in percentages)

A 926-1000 B+ 866-895 C+ 766-795 D+ 666-695 E 0-595

A- 896-925 B 826-865 C 726-765 D 596-665

B- 796-825 C- 696-725

Make-up Policy:

ACTIVITIES: As you cannot participate if you are absent and as they typically involve group discussions, there are strictly no make-ups for missed in-class activities.
QUIZZES: Each student is allowed one chance to make up for one quiz during the quarter. If you miss a quiz, you need to notify me by email or in person that you want to use your chance to make up for it. Strictly no more than one missed quizzes may be made up.
HOMEWORKS: Unless accompanied with official documentation for an acceptable reason (illness or family emergency), late submissions will be subject to a one (1) letter grade (10 percentage points) penalty for every 24 hour period after the turn-in time. I do not promise to remind you to submit such documentation, but regardless of the reason, this penalty will not be removed until official documentation has been received.
EXAMS: If you plan on rescheduling either the midterm or final, you will have to provide extensive documentation for your excuse. See me immediately if this is the case.

Academic Misconduct:

To state the obvious, academic dishonesty is not allowed. Cheating on tests or on other assignments will be reported to the University Committee on Academic Misconduct. The most common form of misconduct is plagiarism. Remember that any time you use the ideas or the materials of another person or persons, you must acknowledge that you have done so in a citation. This includes material that you have found on the Web. The University provides guidelines for research on the Web at http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/.

Class etiquette:

I expect you to respect one another, to respect me, and to respect yourself. To that end, I expect you to obey the following rules:

Do not read newspapers in class. Do not criticize others' questions. Do not pack up early. Shut off your cell phone. If for some reason, you must leave early or you have an important call coming in, notify me before class.
Participate: share experiences, ask questions, express your opinions. Ask me to provide more information and see me during office hours for help or clarification or recommendations for further research.
If you ever have a problem with the course or with me, I prefer you see me during office hours (or schedule an appointment). If, for some reason, you feel you cannot discuss an issue with me, please take your concern to the TA Coordinator (see below).

Students with Disabilities:

Students who need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible to discuss the course format, to anticipate needs, and to explore potential accommodations. I rely on the Office of Disability Services for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies. Students who have not previously contacted the Office for Disability Services are encouraged to do so (614-292-3307; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu).

Tentative Schedule

Links to notes and homeworks will be posted after class at:
http://ling.osu.edu/~xflu/384/

Month	Week	Day	Date	Topic	What's due
September	1	R	22	Syllabus; Intro to class
	2	T	27	Text and speech encoding (Slides 1, ASCII table)
		R	29	Text and speech encoding (ICA1)	Demo Quiz
October	3	T	4	Searching (Slides 2, HW1, ICA2)	Quiz1
		R	6	Searching
	4	T	11	Spam filtering (Slides 3, ICA3)	HW1/Quiz2
		R	13	Spam filtering (HW2)
	5	T	18	Spelling correctors (Slides 4, ICA4)	Quiz3
		R	20	Spelling correctors/Grammar correctors (Slides 5, ICA5)	HW2
	6	T	25	Review	Quiz4
		R	27	MIDTERM	MIDTERM
November	7	T	1	Machine translation (Slides 6, laughs)
		R	3	Machine translation (ICA6)	HW3
	8	T	8	Machine translation (HW4, ICA7)	Quiz5
		R	10	Dialogue systems (Slides 7, ICA8)
	9	T	15	Dialogue systems (ICA9)	HW4/Quiz6
		R	17	Dialogue systems (HW5, ICA10)
	10	T	22	Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) (Slides 8, ICA11)	Quiz7
		R	24	Happy Thanksgiving!
	11	T	29	Social context of language technology use (Slides 9, ICA12, discussion)	HW5
December		R	1	Final review	Quiz8
	12	T	6	FINAL	FINAL

The translation was initiated by Xiaofei Lu on 2005-09-21

Xiaofei Lu 2005-09-21