The TELOS project provided a platform for the development and the commercial exploitation of Telos Language Partner (TLP Pro), a multimedia language learning and authoring application.
TLP Pro is a multimedia learning and authoring application supporting video-based activities, dialogue practice, text comprehension and production, lexical and grammatical explanations and exercises, cultural notes, and lexical look-up. The heart of the application is a set of multimedia templates for prototypical learning activities - from communicative practice (involving texts, dialogues and videos) to grammar and vocabulary learning. TLP Pro has two complementary modes of operation, a Learning Mode and an Editing Mode, as well as a WebConverter.
The Editing Mode with its intuitive editing functions enables tutors and language training institutions to create customised learning packages for any language using the Roman alphabet. It can also be used for 'multimedia re-versioning' of existing learning materials available as books, audio cassettes, or video clips. In the Learning Mode, learners can practise with a variety of video-, dialogue- and text-based comprehension and production tasks involving a flexible combination of listening, speaking/recording, reading and writing. Learners can also use the Editing Mode to explore communicative situations.
With the TLP WebConverter, users can easily create multimedia language learning modules for the World Wide Web. Learning contents can be selected from an existing TLP learning package according to preference and then converted into html format by a mouse click. Only sound and video data must be converted separately into RealPlayer format with the RealProducer.
TLP Pro has been used for the low-cost production of multimedia language learning modules (both for CD-ROM and the Web) in different educational environments (including universities, schools, adult education and corporate training programmes) and in the Leonardo da Vinci projects Video*Lingua (
http://www.videolingua.de), Linguaweb (http://www.linguaplan.de/leinguaweb) and TALL: Teaching autonomy in language learning (http://www.tallweb.org).
The project co-ordinator (University of Tubingen) has set up a Technology Transfer Centre as part of the Baden-Wurttemberg Steinbeis group (Steinbeis-Transferzentrum "Sprachtraining und Kommunikation"). This provides an operational basis for the continued use and commercial exploitation of Telos Language Partner (
http://www.linguaplan.de). Particular emphasis is on the production of multimedia and web-based language learning materials using TLP Pro. Teacher training and other supporting measures are offered to users.