Learn foreign languages by playing 3D video game simulations

Foreign language and culture training

Learn to speak foreign languages while having fun by playing 3D video games that teach what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.

After a few hours of study with our self-paced computer-based courses, both lifelong and casual students of foreign languages learn and retain practical, effective spoken communication skills regardless of their self-perceived learning aptitude or prior knowledge of the language.

Language instruction emphasizes spoken vocabularies and pronunciation, covering grammar and written language only when required. From the first lesson, students learn by listening to and speaking in the foreign language, getting immediate feedback and guidance. The courses tolerate incorrect pronunciation and guide students extensively on how to improve it.

Acting as comprehensive cultural tutors, the courses teach practical cultural knowledge, sensitivity and awareness — including non-verbal gestures, etiquette, and norms of politeness — that are critical for successful communication.

Students play fun, immersive, interactive 3D video games that simulate real-life communication by role playing with animated "socially intelligent virtual humans" that recognize students' intent, speech, gestures and behavior.

If students speak and behave correctly, the virtual humans become trustful and cooperative, and provide information that students need to advance. Otherwise, the virtual humans are uncooperative and prevent students from "winning" the game. For example, in one scene in the Mission to Iraq course students can speak perfect Arabic and still offend their virtual Iraqi host by not asking him to enter the house first or by later talking to his wife without observing Iraqi cultural protocols.

We promote extensive levels of engagement, motivation and practice by providing "free form" storylines with very wide ranges of game-play paths, interactive dialogs and action options. The storyline's drama, exploration and elements of surprise include opportunities to learn from getting into trouble and trying to gracefully get out of it.

Not all virtual humans are the same; each behaves according to its individual personality, emotions and intent, consistent with the storyline and in response to student actions. For example. in another Mission to Iraq scene, the student's disrespect towards two virtual Iraqis elicits a passive response from one and insults from the other, but students can fix the problem if they know how to react to the Iraqi's complaints.

Numerous exercises, quizzes and tests continuously monitor progress and measure the students' level of proficiency, helping them stay motivated. Courses adjust themselves automatically to the students' rate of progress, letting them advance at their own pace.

And most importantly, our courses work!
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How we can help you

Acquire our off-the-shelf courses or those produced by our customers, or
Hire us and license our technology to publish your courses for either in-house use or resale.

Our products are available as stand-alone courses, embedded in other courses and simulations, or blended with other instruction modalities.

Every course is specifically designed to match the profile of its target students, accounting for factors like their age, native language, cultural background, native country, prior knowledge of the target language, desired level of fluency, and application (business, professional, tourism, etc.). Key course-design parameters include length, storyline, difficulty, vocabulary, and entertainment level ("seriousness").

We currently feature single-player games that run on personal computers running the Microsoft^® Windows^™ operating system. During 2008 we will release many new products, including web-based versions and training companions for the Apple iPod.

Our task-centered approach allows our courses to serve the dual purpose of addressing broad training, entertainment and advertising applications while teaching foreign languages.
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To learn more about our products and services, please select the application that best matches your interest:

Corporate, professional, government	Education	Personal	Entertainment	Defense and national security	All
Corporate, professional, government, law enforcement OFF-THE-SHELF COURSES Our Mission to Iraq course teaches how to communicate effectively and safely in Iraq. It is the perfect language and culture learning solution for English speakers living or working in Iraq performing personal and professional tasks such as general business, civil affairs, construction, security and relief aid. It works perfectly as either a self-study course or to supplement classroom instruction. It requires no prior knowledge of Arabic, and in relatively short time teaches the Iraqi dialect of Arabic to an ACTFL proficiency level of novice high (Interagency Language Roundtable level 0+). » Product and purchase information CO-PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIPS We welcome partnerships to co-publish products ranging from full-length courses to supplemental materials for classroom instruction. We are particularly interested in co-publishing courses that teach English to Spanish, Asian and Arabic speakers; and Spanish, Far Eastern languages and Modern Standard Arabic to English speakers. We also seek partners to develop our Mission to France pilot course into a finished product to teach French to English speakers. » Contact us We have partnered with a major publisher of educational materials to co-produce a cutting-edge course to teach Chinese to English speakers. When released in 2008-2009, it will feature a fully integrated series of task-based materials for use both in and out of classrooms, including books; our game-, web- and iPod-based products; a broadcast television series; and original songs. PUBLISHING SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSING We are available both to provide course-production services and to license our technology for you to publish your courses for either in-house use or resale. » Alelo Technology One of our recent clients is Thornton Media Inc., which hired us and licensed our technology to produce the Rez World courses to study Native American languages. The first in the series is for learning Cherokee. » Rez World Education OFF-THE-SHELF COURSES Our Mission to Iraq full-length course is perfectly suited to teach Iraqi Arabic language and culture to high school and university students. It can be used either for self-study or in blended classroom instruction. The course teaches the Iraqi dialect of Arabic to an ACTFL proficiency level of novice high, with plans to advance it to an intermediate level during 2008. » Product and purchase information CO-PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIPS We welcome partnerships to co-publish products ranging from full-length courses to supplemental materials for classroom instruction that meet national and state standards for K-12, college and post-graduate levels in both the United States and elsewhere in the world. We are particularly interested in co-publishing courses that teach English to Spanish, Asian and Arabic speakers; and Spanish, Far Eastern languages and Modern Standard Arabic to English speakers. We also seek partners to develop our Mission to France pilot course into a finished product to teach French to English speakers. » Contact us We have partnered with a major publisher of educational materials to co-produce a cutting-edge course to teach Chinese to English speakers. When released in 2008-2009, it will feature a fully integrated series of task-based materials for use both in and out of classrooms, including books; our game-, web- and iPod-based products; a broadcast television series; and original songs. The course targets first- and second-year college students, but will be accessible to high school and home-study students. It will be flexible to accommodate a wide range of instructor/student preferences and styles. PUBLISHING SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSING We are available both to provide course-production services and to license our technology for you to publish your courses for either in-house use or resale. » Alelo Technology One of our recent clients is Thornton Media Inc., which hired us and licensed our technology to produce the Rez World courses to study Native American languages. The first in the series is for learning Cherokee. » Rez World Personal MISSION TO IRAQ LANGUAGE & CULTURE TRAINING SYSTEM We currently offer the Mission to Iraq course to learn how to communicate effectively and safely in Iraq. It emphasizes spoken dialogs and cultural sensitivity. It is the perfect language and culture learning solution for anyone working in Iraq performing tasks such as general business, civil affairs, construction, security and relief aid. It is suitable either as a self-study course or to supplement classroom instruction. It requires no prior knowledge of Arabic, and in relatively short time teaches the Iraqi dialect of Arabic to an ACTFL proficiency level of novice high (Interagency Language Roundtable level 0+). » Product and purchase information CO-PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIPS We welcome partnerships to co-publish products ranging from full-length courses to supplemental materials for classroom instruction. We are particularly interested in co-publishing courses that teach English to Spanish, Asian and Arabic speakers; and Spanish, Far Eastern languages and Modern Standard Arabic to English speakers. We also seek partners to develop our Mission to France pilot course into a finished product to teach French to English speakers. » Contact us We have partnered with with a major publisher of educational materials to co-produce a cutting-edge course to teach Chinese to English speakers. When released in 2008-2009, it will feature a fully integrated series of task-based materials for use both in and out of classrooms, including books; our game-, web- and iPod-based products; a broadcast television series; and original songs. PUBLISHING SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSING We are available both to provide course-production services and to license our technology for you to publish your courses for either in-house use or resale. » Alelo Technology One of our recent clients is Thornton Media Inc., which hired us and licensed our technology to produce the Rez World courses to study Native American languages. The first in the series is for learning Cherokee. » Rez World Entertainment Our language and culture technologies present an excellent opportunity to game publishers looking to differentiate themselves in today's global communities. Our "communicative brain behind the avatar" is a novel and unique way to take the game industry to its next level of realism and engagement level, and perhaps even creating new game genres. » Contact us. Defense and national security Our award-winning Tactical Language & Culture Training Systems are off-the-shelf courses specifically designed for defense and national security applications. We currently offer titles to study Iraqi Arabic language and culture (Tactical Iraqi), Pashto language and culture for the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan (Tactical Pashto), and French as spoken in the countries of French-speaking Sahel Africa (Tactical French). An Afghan Dari course (Tactical Dari) is scheduled for release soon. During 2008 we will extend our interactive PC-based language and culture courses with web-based study programs and lessons, mission-rehearsal applications, and companion materials for the Apple iPod. We are also available to apply our advanced language-learning technology and methods to the production of customized and localized courses, and embedding language-learning technology components in other courses, simulators and games. Our customers include all services of the U.S. Armed Forces and the Australian Defence Force; and we are being evaluated by several defense and national security organizations in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For additional information on our defense and national security products and services, please visit the website of our subsidiary dedicated to serving defense and national security organizations worldwide, Tactical Language Training LLC.



	Why our courses work so well

	Our courses are "serious games" with numerous research-based pedagogic and technologic innovations that enable rapid and sustained learning of foreign languages and cultures. We solve the limitations and lack of effectiveness intrinsic to the tedious, abstract "repeat after me" methods that characterize popular audio, video, web-based and computer-based courses. And we deliver the unique benefit of providing extensive, practical cultural training. Three key pedagogic objectives of our approach are to reduce students' frustration and boredom, sustain their motivation even after hours of intense study, and promote the transfer of acquired communication skills to the real world. As a result, students achieve successes quickly, which builds their self-confidence and maintains their motivation and interest. Our advanced methods covered by numerous patent applications — including the pioneering use of enjoyable 3D video games — address these objectives. Task-based curricula provide students with contexts that are highly relevant to their personal or professional lives. Virtual-world simulations reinforce and let students transfer their acquired skills to the real world by practicing realistic, extensive inter-personal communication — as opposed to merely repeating uninteresting phrases — at their own pace, as often as they need to, and without embarrassment. Our courses have been successfully used since 2006 by over 25,000 defense and national security personnel in the U.S. and Australia. Outcomes have been and continue to be excellent. For instance, an evaluation of our Tactical Iraqi course by the U.S. Special Operations Command found that trainees learn Arabic to an Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) proficiency level of 0+ (ACTFL proficiency level of novice high) after as little as a week of study. Many rate our courses better — and more fun — than other self-study and instructor-led classes. » More on Alelo Technology



	Learn more about our technologic and pedagogic innovations

	Learn how to communicate safely in Iraq with our Mission to Iraq course

	Learn how to benefit from our simulations of social communication