Natural language interfaces enable the user to communicate with the

computer in French, English, German, or any human language. Some 【M1】________

applications of such interfaces are database queries, information

retrieval from texts, so-called expert systems, and robot control.

Current advances in recognition of spoken language improve the usability 【M2】________

of many types of natural language systems. Communication with

computers using spoken language will have a lasted impact upon the work 【M3】________

environment; completely new areas of application for information

technology will open up. However, spoken language needs to be

combined to other modes of communication such as pointing with mouse 【M4】________

or finger. Because such multimodal communication is finally embedded 【M5】________

in an effective general model of cooperation, we have succeeded in

turning the machine to a partner. Much older than communication 【M6】_________

problems between human beings and machines are these between people 【M7】_________

with different mother tongues. One of the original aims of language

technology has always been fully automatic translation between human

languages. From bitter experience scientists have realized that they are

still far away from getting the ambitious goal of translating unrestricted 【M8】_________

texts. Nevertheless, they have been able to create software systems that

simplify the work of human translators and clearly improve their

productivity. Less-than-perfect automatic translations can also be of a 【M9】_________

great help to information seekers who have to search for large amounts 【M10】________

of texts in foreign languages.

Cultural tendencies impact the way children participate in

education. There are different expectations about “normal” school

behavior for students from individualist and collectivist cultures. Take a

moment to think about what teachers who lack knowledge about culture 【M1】_________

might interpret the behavior of a child from a collectivist culture. These

differences may cause educators inaccurately judge students from some 【M2】_________

cultures as poorly behaved or disrespectful. In addition, because cultural

differences are hard to perceive, students may find them reprimanded by 【M3】_________

teachers but fail to understand what they did that caused concern.

The influence of culture in beliefs about education, the value of 【M4】_________

education, and participation styles cannot be overestimated. Many

Asian students, for example, tend to be quiet in class, and using eye 【M5】_________

contact with teachers is considered inappropriate for many of these

children. In contrast, most European American children are taught to

value active classroom discussion and to look teachers directly in the eyes 【M6】_________

to show respect, while their teachers view students’ participation as a

signal of engagement and competence. 【M7】_________

Another contrast involves the role of Hispanic parents in education.

Parents from some Hispanic cultures tend to regard teachers as experts

and will often refer to them in educational decision making. In contrast, 【M8】_________

European American parents are often more actively involved in their

children’s classrooms, are visible in the classrooms, or volunteer and

assist teachers. These cultural differences in value and belief may cause

educators to make accurate judgments regarding the value that 【M9】_________

non-European American families place on education. While it is

important to keep in the mind that different cultural groups tend to 【M10】________

follow particular language and interaction styles, there is tremendous

variability within cultural groups.

In an age where globalization is the trend, learning a foreign

language becomes essential. Because of globalization, citizens of one

country see the need to learn a language aside from their native ones. 【M1】_________

Some learn a foreign language for practical reasons while others are

motivating because of aspirational, intellectual or sentimental reasons. 【M2】_________

When an individual has plans to migrate to the different country or 【M3】_________

region, learning the local language of the place would be necessary to be able to

communicate with the people in the new place. He or she cannot integrate to 【M4】_________

the local community unless he or she does not know what the locals are 【M5】_________

talking about and cannot understand the signs writing in the local 【M6】_________

language.

More than just learning new vocabulary words, learning a foreign

language can enhance the ability of an individual to learn and function

in the other areas. It is like exercising the brain to have better function 【M7】_________

in organization, memory, and expression. Aside from the great

cognitive development, learning a foreign language could also help an

individual better equipped to adapt to the changes happening. 【M8】_________

Although learning a foreign language also entails learning the culture of 【M9】_________

the country, the ability of the individual to tolerate diverse lifestyles

and customs also improve. 【M10】________